Brown Family Broadcast

Pinata party

2012-01-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I almost forgot to post pictures of our annual family pinata party! We generally do it after Christmas when people are more relaxed and have more open schedules. At this year's party we got to meet my nephew's fiancee. I still can't believe my nieces and nephews are starting to get married!

Anyway, here are the cute pics of the kids. Apparently they've also decided that wearing pieces of the pinata is cool, so that happened a lot this year, too:

Snowman pinata 2011

As is tradition, we start with the youngest in hopes this allows more kids to hit the thing before it falls apart. Austin quite enjoyed it this year:

The other kids also enjoyed it and got some pretty good hits, even with a blindfold:

Austin decided to help Gavin by ganging up on Gavin's pinata:

(James couldn't help because he was crying because his dad tried to make him hit the pinata.)

And as for the wearing:

Do NOT blame the mother!

2012-01-26T21:19:00.001-07:00

Some days I just really hope Shayla's teacher knows she did her own hair or coordinated her own clothes. I've been tempted to e-mail and let her know before, but I figure she's probably seen plenty in her years there. My SILs Heidi and Christina both taught kindergarten and have told me not to worry. But I still hope she knows things like the two butterflies were not my idea:

Good thing Shayla's adorable no matter what!

Christmas ... finally :)

2012-01-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it's already been a month since Christmas. How is time flying by so quickly? Here's my last Christmas post ...

We started our Christmas with a Christmas Eve tradition -- opening one present, which is always jammies. The kids have always wanted some with button-up shirts, so that's what they got this year. I couldn't believe how well the boys' matched, even though I didn't plan it that way:

Christmas jammies

Christmas morning we had church at 9 a.m. We decided that rather than rush the present-opening experience that we'd just make the kids wait until after church to open presents. They were cool with that, although I'm sure it was hard. We went to church, came home and got back in our jammies, and got to opening presents.

Tyler has really gotten into chess this year, so he was thrilled to get his own glass set from Zachary:

The boys got a dream gift -- Nintendo DSs. We have never gotten them because they are still expensive, so they didn't even think to ask for them. So boy were they surprised and thrilled (and then goofy) upon opening them:

Yes! We each got a Nintendo DS!

Goofy boys!

Austin was adorable to watch. He'd rip off one one piece of wrapping paper and then had to throw it away before he'd rip off the next piece. If only all the kids were that clean every day! :)

Then, after opening his two gifts, he got plenty of entertainment trying to feed Pooh Bear crackers. It was so cute:

Becca enjoyed opening her gifts and was a little spoiled this year. She got the entire Harry Potter series on DVD and a new camera. That's some good stuff:

Becca opening a camera

She also got a new blanket I made for her on a whim. She always says it's cold, so I made it with half denim so it's nice and heavy. It also has cute patterned material so it's not TOO heavy and has a bit more color:

Shayla was adorable to watch opening presents. I mean, the girl has personality. She opened her Easy Bake oven (first picture) and then had the cutest reaction when she realized what it was (2nd picture):

She also got another pair of jammies, even though she didn't need them. However, they had Pinkalicioius on them, and for a couple of years she believed she WAS Pinkalicious:

The afternoon was very enjoyable. We were lazy. We had good food. We visited Grandma and Grandpa. Becca and Shayla had sister time and cooked in her oven:

Shayla's first cake: Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Yum!

There was also a lot of quiet time and kids looking like this:

DSs, Leap Frog and new games -- oh, my!

Ahhhhhh ... that is peace to my ears. :)

Santa pictures

2012-01-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

So my kiddos got lucky and got to see Santa twice this year -- once at our ward party and once at my parents' ward party. Normally we do the Santa thing only once, but this year we had to do it twice since the second Santa was someone my kids know and love (their uncle Gus).

I was glad we had a second chance, because the Santa at our ward party told Tyler he didn't have to sit on his lap if he didn't want to. What? Tyler had never considered otherwise, and I didn't like putting any ideas into his head. Well, if Tyler wasn't going to sit on Santa's lap then Zachary wasn't going to, either. Sigh. But they had to sit on Santa's lap at my parents' party or they weren't given the treat bag each child received. :)

I love the picture of Tyler as he recognizes the voice behind the beard:

Zachary also knew who it was:

Shayla didn't figure it out, at least I don't think she did since she was still nervous:

And Austin? Well, everyone in my family claims (probably truthfully) that they've NEVER heard him scream as loud as he did this night:

Here's the cutest picture of the evening -- Santa stealing a little smooch while his son screams about Santa "attacking" his mom:

Thank you, Harry Potter

2012-01-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

So, we did it! When Zachary asked if I would read him the Harry Potter series, I thought he was nuts. I mean, that would take years, right? But he bugged me until I finally conceded. We started in August and have moved our way through the books.

I don't think I realized how much I'd enjoy reading them again. After about the third or fourth book, I read each one in just a couple of days after they came out. I read very quickly just wanting to know what happened. This time, reading them out loud made me read them slower (obviously), and I just read them amazed and fascinated.

How does someone create a pseudo world that seems so completely believable and real? She has names of spells that do various things; witches and wizards are good in different areas (some are better at potions, others at herbology, others at transfiguration, etc.); animals that we've never heard of; games that apply only to the wizarding world; etc. I seriously was just in awe at the awesomeness of this series!

Needless to say, a couple of weeks before Christmas we finished book 7:

Tyler had just gone to a Harry Potter birthday party (where he got this new wand he's holding), and Zachary hadn't known for sure exactly how the details worked themselves out in the end. Neither of them have seen all the movies -- they have to wait to 13 to watch the PG-13 ones -- and it was fun for them to notice differences in the books of the movies they have seen.

For Christmas Eve we have a tradition of getting a new game for the family to help the day go by faster. This year we got "Scene it -- Harry Potter" edition with all eight movies. Becca has watched the movies soooo many times that she used to be our resident expert. However, Tyler has overtaken this title, and he does better than any of us even though he hasn't seen all the movies. All of us (excluding Shayla) had a lot of fun playing. (Her reaction was to start crying when they opened the game, "Why does it have to be Harry Potter?" She got over it quickly enough, though. :)

Now we've got to find a new series to read, because my boys love it. Zachary wants Percy Jackson, but nothing is going to compare to Hogwarts and Harry.

New tradition

2012-01-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas was wonderful, and I'll post pics of it later. However, I wanted to share a new, very special tradition that we started this year. I saw it on a friend's FB post, and at the last minute we decided to implement it.

Christmas evening after everyone has enjoyed the day of giving and receiving, we turned out ALL the lights, lit a few candles and ate dinner over candlelight. We ate food that may have been eaten in Christ's time (flat bread, cheese, grapes, olives, etc). We discussed the Nativity and the sacredness of the day. We discussed the rejoicing in heaven the shepherds heard, and how we were among those rejoicing. We discussed the gifts of the Wise Men, along with their symbolic and practical meanings (from a New Era article in the Dec. 2011 issue). I explained the birth of my own kids and how special they were, and how even more special was the birth of our Savior. I also discussed how scary it must have been for this young girl to be away from home and be delivered by a man who was not a physician. I told them how excited I was to tell everyone they were born, and how Mary must have been so excited to show off her son to the shepherds. We discussed the star and the significance of the Wise Men watching for and following it. Etc.

The kids loved it! I was so glad, and I hope the distinctness of it makes it especially memorable for the kids. I was going to buy nice square wooden plates to use, but it was too last-minute and pricey. (I still plan to, but I'll have to save up. :)

We're going to do the same thing at Easter and discuss the Resurrection. I'm already looking forward to it! I love implementing new traditions that will help my kids feel the true spirit of the holidays and feel this one is an awesome one to start. (By the way, Becca is annoyed that we're starting all the "good" traditions as she's getting ready to move out ... We'll continue to do our best at it. ;)

Shelves, anyone?

2011-11-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, we bought wood to get shelves wherever we wanted them throughout the house. And, as I mentioned, my dad offered to finish the boys' closets. Well, he's fast and had the closets done in a few mornings. Obviously I still have some painting to do (to the doors and door frames), but look how wonderful these closets are:

Look at the pretty trim and rosettes

Two bars in the center; shelves on each side

The shelves go around the corner to the front of the closet

Oh, and my Dad's boredom (or his noticing my honey-do list isn't having anything crossed off ;) motivated him to do even more -- now both Becca and Shayla have shelves in their closets, and the old window in our toy room has adjustable shelves. I'm loving our "extra" space! It's amazing how much more organized you can feel with some shelves here and there!

50s

2011-11-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

For Shayla's 50th day of school they were supposed to dress up 50s style. Fortunately when digging through our Halloween bin I saw that we have a poodle skirt! I don't even know where we got it since we've had it for years. However, convincing the little darling was a chore. What 5-year-old knows that a poodle on a skirt makes it 50s?

Dancing in her 50s outfit

Fortunately she believed her Momma and wore it in spite of her reservations. Then she got to school and found her teacher ... in a poodle skirt! Score!

(BTW, in case you didn't know, kindergarten teachers are the end-all. They could say what time for a child to go to bed; how many pieces of candy to eat; etc. and it would be gospel. Now if only they would! ;)

Sadies

2011-11-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

To ask Kyle to Sadies, Becca gave him a bowl full of goldfish crackers and said, "Of all the fish in the sea, will you go to Sadies with me?" He answered by putting a real goldfish in the bowl and returning it with a note that said yes. I should have taken a picture of her with the fish (Sadie) before she died ...

Anyway, I didn't get any pictures of them on the day of the dance, because they didn't come here. She assures me her friend's mom will share, but I still haven't seen pictures yet ...

But Becca had a cute idea for shirts and put words on them for the couples. She and Kyle had these shirts:

Her friends had these ones:

Apparently this is some inside joke

They had fun until Kyle got sick and threw up. Apparently he wasn't so lucky after all ... ;)

Little happenings

2011-11-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is how bad my memory is these days -- if I don't have a picture, then I forget to blog about it. Seriously? I can't be that old. Or am I?

A couple of weeks ago Shayla got to celebrate her birthday at school. This is a new thing for us since she's our one and only summer birthday. She came home with a birthday crown and the birthday bag. Yes, birthdays as a kid are much better than they are as an adult ...

Last month we toured Utah State University since Becca is thinking she'll go there to school. It's so crazy to think that next year she'll leave us and be in college! Anyway, the girl looked like she owned the campus:

(This is where you can become a true Aggie -- being kissed on a full moon at midnight. Paul offered to drive up and give her a kiss on the cheek so she can become a true Aggie. She laughed, but don't put it past him ...)

Our dining table has a few new dents in it. Okay, yes, it was already dented from my mom's cub scouts back in the day. But now my own kid has added his own mark. Which child, you ask? Austin! He was having so much fun with Play-doh and a toy hammer that I let him go at it. It wasn't until the next day I noticed dents all over where he had been hammering:

My Dad is finishing our boys' shelves. I have no idea how he can be bored. He is bishop of a HUGE ward, works a service mission at the meat-packing plant (although they released him when he became bishop, he still goes every week), and has a bunch of grandkids he entertains regularly. However, he is bored and is building shelves in my boys' bedrooms. They look GREAT! I'm so happy. Anyway, Austin has sure enjoyed watching Grandpa work:

And happy birthday to my sweet nephew James, who wanted no part of his cake smash. Poor boy!

Reflections winner!

2011-11-10T22:03:00.002-07:00

My boys decided to enter Reflections this year, much to my dismay ... :) Anyway, Tyler wrote a great story, Star Wars style (it's awesome with flying cake and everything), and Zachary wrote a song for the piano. Great fun ... until you have to do the paperwork that has to be completed! (I also had to play Zachary's song to record since he didn't want to, and it's hard to play music written a little sloppily by an 8-year-old. But I only made one mistake as far as I know. :)

Zachary won in his category -- how fun!

Halloween

2011-11-01T16:11:00.000-06:00

Halloween is such an exciting time for kids! And since my kids aren't picky about what they are going to be, it's enjoyable for me as well. :)

Last year I hit up Walmart after Halloween to get the clearance costumes. That got me 2/4 of the costumes I needed. I had one in storage from a yard sale years back for Austin, so I was left with only one costume to get. Zachary wanted to be Harry Potter. I pulled out an old graduation gown we had, but he was mortified I suggested a blue (Ravenclaw) robe for someone in Gryffindor. Gasp! Fortunately my friend Hilary came through by grabbing an "official" Gryffindor robe from her sister. He already had the wand I made for his birthday party, and we grabbed glasses from the dollar store. Viola! All the costumes were ready to go.

I was worried it was going to be freezing, because when we took pictures in the morning it was COLD! Last year it hailed on us while we were trick-or-treating. However, the weather turned out to be beautiful -- not too hot and not too cold. Phew! (So glad, especially since it snowed today quite a bit!)

Here are the cute kiddos, er, Darth Vader, Harry Potter, a witch and a giraffe:

Oh, and let me document the fun of teenagers! For a month I've been asking Becca if she'd like to have a Halloween party this year, and she kept saying she wanted to, but never got around to actually planning anything. I told her we had to plan games, refreshments, etc. before I'd let her invite people. (We also needed to plan how many to invite and for how long, etc.) After several prods, I finally just dropped it and realized she wasn't going to go through with it. Last week she finally mentioned that she wasn't going to have the party after all. Sunday afternoon I asked what she was going to do for Halloween. She didn't know.

Then Sunday night she came home from a fireside and said she had invited 10 people over for a party. WHAT?!? And they were coming from 6 to 11 p.m. on a school night. REALLY?!? These were the "little" details we were supposed to figure out before anyone was invited two weeks ahead. Sigh. She figured I had planned to make cookies anyway, so why not have friends over to eat them? TEENAGERS!!!

Oh, and Friday night was the masquerade at her school, and she wanted to make a cool mask this year. So she did (after much trial-and-error with paper mache -- instead of just asking for help or looking up how to make it. And her asking me to blow dry it onto her face? That's another story ...). Anyway, what she didn't inform me was that she had also decided to spray-paint her hands gold to match the mask? Really?!? Where does she come up with these ideas? Here's the final product:

And in case you're wondering -- no, the spray paint didn't come off with the initial wash. I only wish it had been harder to get off so she'd think before doing things like that in the future! :)

Soccer September

2011-10-30T15:13:00.005-06:00

I feel like I'm still recovering from soccer, which ate up our September. Generally it's a bit hectic but doable, but this year it almost did me in. I didn't probably take into account well enough that Paul is in school, and then Becca got a job but still doesn't have her license, so it was taking me an hour per day to get her to and from work. Add one more little tidbit that they moved the soccer games around, so now Tyler and Shayla played at different parks on the same night. Yes, hectic and completely tiring!

Of course, they love it and that makes it all worth it (although I'll definitely re-think it next fall :). Here are some pics of the kiddos in action -- I love action shots!

Tyler's field was so huge this year, so I was glad to get a few pics!

Still sticks out the tongue when he's serious. :P

Socializing was as fun as soccer for this girl. Love the dress under the soccer shirt?

Homecoming

2011-10-28T22:16:00.000-06:00

Senior year meant Becca's last chance to go to Homecoming. She really wanted to be asked, and I bet you can't guess who came through? Having a boyfriend can sure come in handy, eh? :)

Look at how well that tie matches!

Becca had a wonderful time.

Adventures in sewing

2011-10-25T14:38:00.000-06:00

When Becca got asked to prom 1.5 weeks before prom her sophomore year, we had to get a dress fast! I was soooo very blessed to find a set of dresses on the KSL classifieds that the lady sold for very cheap (something like $40 for four dresses and a skirt). I donated the skirt since I knew we'd never make a top for it, and we donated one of the dresses that neither of us liked the look of. Becca wore the burgundy dress to prom -- we just added some fancy ribbon to the high waistline to make it look a little more elegant.

The blue dress has been borrowed by two of her friends, but Becca has yet to wear it -- even though it looks good on her. (Then again, she's bought three other dresses from yard sales, so the girl is not hurting for dresses. :)

The teal one had a zipper that worked only half the time -- not a great scenario if you don't know if the dress will zip up the night of the dance. We were going to trade a neighbor her sewing skills to put in a new zipper for free babysitting, but we've done a similar arrangement before (to get sleeves added to a dress) for which Becca has yet to babysit. So I knew if we were going to make modifications I was on my own. I have never sewed a zipper into anything before, but it couldn't be too hard, right? (I hope, I hope! :)

We also decided since all of her dresses are long that we'd shorten the teal dress for a change. I mean, while we're on the verge of destroying it, why not add more danger to the mix? ;)

Here is the dress before we started our modifications (ignore the wrinkles -- they're irrelevant):

My friend suggested that rather than just taking off the same amount around the entire dress that maybe we should measure where it hits a bench so that the dress was straight on her body. This was the most difficult process! It might have been easier if Becca stopped adjusting her hair and moving her shoulders around ... teens! :)

Anyway, we finally got it hemmed shorter and added matching tulle at the bottom. I also took some of the fabric cut from the bottom and put it in the neckline, which was a little uncomfortably low. How'd it turn out? Amazing. Yes, I am impressed with myself. Did I mention that the zipper is a HIDDEN zipper? And although it took me a while, I got it done and nobody (unless they looked way too closely) would even know that someone who had never done a zipper put it in. Can you tell I am very proud of myself? :)

Here is the final product:

Oh, and notice the matching flower. I learned how to make that from a neighbor a few days before the dance just so we could make a matching barrette. I'm so glad we did -- I think it looks great!

My fav part is the new neckline, which I think adds its own elegance, so here's a close-up of that:

Doesn't she look pretty? And not just because of our dress success? :)

I also took part of the bottom of the skirt and sewed a matching skirt for Shayla. What cute girls!

The tale of a walker

2011-10-24T22:55:00.000-06:00

When people ask me at what age Austin learned to walk, I'm not sure what to tell them. Yes, he's 18.5 months and still not walking. Does that mean he's unable? Nope, it just means he's totally and completely content to not walk.

Don't get me wrong -- he pushes around a baby walker and loves doing so. At church he "borrowed" a little old lady's walker in nursery (she was in there helping) and pushed it around until Paul retrieved him (much to his dismay!). He'd also walk holding my hand, but only until he was 18 months -- then he decided that wasn't for him. And walking without assistance -- not a chance!

When I took him in for his 18-month check-up, our pediatrician said I should probably have the early-intervention people give him a look. I wasn't too keen on the idea, because I know he's fully capable, just not willing. But WHAT IF? ... so I called them. She came and watched him and agreed -- he's fully capable, just not caring to walk quite yet. She even set up a couple of little "traps" thinking she'd get him to walk, but to no avail.

Well, a couple of nights later, I was rolling a ball back and forth with him. I got distracted with another of the kids (shocking, I know), and he crawled over to where the ball had ended by our train table. He pulled himself up, turned around and kicked the ball. He then proceeded to walk behind it and kick it across the room. I called Paul into the room excitedly. Austin loved the attention and kept loving kicking the ball. The kids were ecstatic. Austin was enthused -- so much so that he continued to walk around and kick the ball for the next 20 minutes! He pulled himself up in the middle of the floor if he fell down (which he'd never done) and just got back up and started kicking again.

Here are the pics of the fun evening. (Ignore the food on his pants -- I hadn't planned to take pictures!)

Then the next morning in my excitement I put him on his feet. He got annoyed then got back down to crawl all day -- little stinker! (This all happened last week, but now he's a full-fledged walker. FINALLY! Oh, and he doesn't qualify for early-intervention help after all ... just as I suspected.)

Piano Lessons

2011-10-23T15:01:00.000-06:00

My kids are required to start piano lessons when they turn eight. Yes, this mom values music, and I enjoy hearing them practice. Well, really practice is often a chore -- as much for me as for them. I hear probably at least once a week (or at least did for the first two years Tyler took), "Mom, why did you sign me up for piano without asking me?"

However, the boys have both been doing great this year! Zachary started in June and has been excited to jump in and learn as best as he can. I bought a book with more popular and fun songs for Tyler, and that was enough to motivate him a little more. (He loved learning the Davy Crockett song when he had Mr. Crockett for a teacher last year, and this past week he's been playing the Darth Vader march.)

Anyway, they had their first piano recital this month and did great! Zachary went first and didn't seem nervous at all. Tyler played the Mickey Mouse club song -- always a favorite :) -- and did just great. They both enjoyed playing for others, and because the teacher takes very few students, they didn't even get bored with the rest of the recital. :)

Tyler

Zachary

Now the hope is that Shayla can get in when we want her to -- she's already been on the waiting list for a year. (That's what happens when you find a great teacher for a great price. :)

I love to see the temple!

2011-10-23T14:54:00.000-06:00

This month has been an exciting one for us with regards to temples! First at conference they announced the rebuilding of the Provo Tabernacle as a second temple in Provo. Amazing! I was so touched that I bawled as soon as they announced it. Then less than a week later we went to the groundbreaking for the Payson temple. Imagine that -- in a few years we'll have three temples within 20 minutes of our home. That just feels miraculous to me, even though we are in Utah. :)

Anyway, we are so thrilled about the Payson temple, which will be our temple as soon as it is built. The temple rendering is just gorgeous:

They announced at the groundbreaking that it will be one of the biggest temples built in recent years. It was amazing to hear from Elder Oaks, who has a history of attending school in Spanish Fork when he lived with his grandparents. (He attended Peteetneet Academy, which is now a museum it's so old.) Anyway, the thing I loved most about the speakers was the woman who said something to the effect that any time children are gathered around a table, that table becomes an altar. This means our dinner table becomes a sacred place if we are eating together as a family with our children. I had never thought of that before, but no wonder family dinner is emphasized so much!

Anyway, the day was cold and rainy, and I was worried about that. However, I'm hoping that it will make it even more memorable for my children who will remember WHY we sat out in the rain and cold.

Becca, Tyler, Austin, Paul, Zachary & Shayla

Dad, Mom, Heidi & James

Elder Oaks broke ground with all the stake presidents, then invited up dignitaries (local politicians and such), then the Aaronic Priesthood members. Elder Oaks had fun:

Then the coolest thing, which I wasn't expecting at all, was that we got to go up and break some ground where the temple is to be built! What an awesome and amazing opportunity for my kids! I was thrilled. It took us a bit to get up there, but the kids loved the golden shovels, and I'm hoping they remember this day forever.

Becca, Austin, Tyler, Shayla & Paul

Zachary

Summer Stuff: A Wolf and A Bear

2011-09-22T13:27:00.001-06:00

I missed blogging about a lot of things this summer, and I'll never catch up. But I have to mention that my boys got their Wolf and Bear badges on the same night. That was cool for them to receive them the same night. Maybe the can do the same for their Webelos and Bear, but I think Tyler will get his Webelos before Zach can turn 9. Zachary is LOVING scouts, and I had to make a rule that he can no longer wake me up in the morning to see what we can work on for scouts. Cute boy wanted to do it first thing in the morning and would wake me up! Sigh ... :)

Way to go, boys!!!

First days of school

2011-09-21T21:54:00.001-06:00

Yes, I know school started a month ago. It's been like we're on fast-forward ever since! The weekend after school started we had another yard sale and did just as great as the first one! I couldn't believe it. People LOVED our bake sale (surprising to me, really), and my neighbors came through with some really big donations (telescope, Victorian couch, wingback chair, desk, coffee table, etc). We didn't sell the big items, but we have since sold several of them on KSL.com. In fact, the raft my dad sold actually sold for more than we listed it because we had people fighting over it. Needless to say, we've hopefully got plane tickets covered for my brother and his wife to get to the Lisbon temple open house. But now I'd like to get enough to cover room, board and transportation. Wish us luck! :)

But I digress ... Other things have kept us busy in the last month as well: This year Tyler has an insane amount of homework. Add to that soccer 4 nights a week, cub scouts meetings every week for Wolves (Zach), Bears (Paul and I) and Webelos (Tyler), piano lessons for two, dance lessons for one, work two to three nights a week for one (who still has to be driven around!), community council at the school for one, a Bears backyard carnival at our house, a "licious" party for one, and a Relief Society retreat getaway (LOVED a night away! :) ... well, you can see why I haven't blogged for a bit.

So here I am trying to start back up, and I'll begin with the traditional photos of my kids on their first days of school.

Becca is a senior this year -- I can't believe it! She was in fifth grade when she came to live with us, and it's crazy to think she's already finished junior high and almost high school. She is taking a LOT of art classes, so hopefully she'll learn some great technique and make millions as an artist! (or at least enjoy herself :).

Tyler is in fifth grade. Yes, it is the dreaded year for homework. So far it hasn't killed us, but there are nights when I thought it might. Fortunately his teacher this year is WONDERFUL! I am so happy about that after last year's not-so-great teacher.

Zachary is in third grade. He has two teachers sharing a contract. We haven't done this before, but I think we'll like it. He has one teacher in the morning (the daughter of Becca's principal, actually), and one teacher in the afternoon (Tyler's third-grade teacher). They're both so great that I have no doubts Zachary will love this year.

My boys are still buddies, and I absolutely love that! I remind them all the time about Hyrum and Joseph and how close they were and hope my boys are that kind of brothers to each other.

So Shayla LOVES, LOVES, LOVES kindergarten. And can I just say so do I? :) She tells me more than my boys ever have, which is so stereotypical of them all. She was so excited for her first day, especially since it was a week later than everyone else's first day.

She loved taking pictures so much on the first day that we HAD to do it again the second day. She posed as if she were walking away and then showed off her backpack.

And here's what Austin's up to:

Yes, he's loving life as usual, and I'm loving that he sleeps while Shayla's gone to school. I generally have 2.25 hours from the time Shayla leaves until Becca gets home, and I'm loving some quiet time. Now if only my house would clean itself ... ;)

Thoughts on 9/11

2011-09-11T14:11:00.000-06:00

The events the morning of September 11 were horrific. Yet in my life it was a day of sweetness and love. It was my first day home with my first baby, and I was madly in love with the little guy. Paul was back to work for the first time on September 11, and he heard the news on the radio on his way to work. At first he thought the DJ was joking -- they would never ground ALL flights! But then he changed the station and heard the news again. And again. And he knew it was true.

Yet in this national crisis, my husband was still thoughtful and loving. He knew I'd been up several times during the night with a new baby, so instead of calling to tell me the news right away, he let me sleep a while longer before calling. How can I not feel that love when his concern during that huge event was for me? And how could I not look into the face of my newborn baby and just know that God is watching over me completely and that He is love? (In fact, you can look up my post from a few years ago about 9/11 to see that God was truly watching over all His children that day.)

The events were horrific, yet I experienced beauty. No matter what happens in the world, I can still love my children, give them safety and security, and teach them the joys of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter what happens for bad to us as a nation or as individuals, nothing will ever compare with the wonderfully perfect Atonement that was done with unconditional and complete love. Christ stated in one of my favorite scriptures: "... In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Yard Sale!

2011-07-30T17:03:00.000-06:00

Today was my first-ever yard sale. I always thought I'd never have one, but now I think I could fathom doing another. Of course, when you're doing it for a good cause, it's easier to put in the effort AND get rid of some of my stuff.

So, what's my good cause? They have announced an LDS temple in Lisbon, Portugal. My brother served his mission in Lisbon (South mission). He has always wanted to go back, and I figure that it would be pure awesomeness for him to go back during the temple dedication. But a full-time student with three beautiful little girls? Well, that doesn't make for a lot of extra money.

We've been brainstorming ways we can make money to get him there, and a yard sale came to mind. So I decluttered some things in my house (phew!) and gathered other items from family and friends. Needless to say, we ended up with a lot of stuff and made enough for one plane ticket. Hooray!!! We're going to do it again and hope to make enough to cover the other plane ticket.

By the way, they haven't yet broken ground on the temple, so that should give us a little time to raise more money. Definitely let me know if you have any brilliant fundraising ideas! :)

Looking store

2011-07-27T17:59:00.000-06:00

My kids want to make money. They often draw pictures and set up tables to sell them. (They've learned very quickly that Grandma is a sucker and will pay them; Mom pays only in hugs and kisses, which defeats their purpose.) They ask often if we can sell old toys at a garage sale. They ask if they can have a lemonade stand. They come up with various other ways to try to make money -- my favorite was that they wanted to start selling tires. (Of course, we didn't want to put Bro. Atwood out of business. ;)

So Shayla came up with a new idea: a "looking store." This was a "store" in which you were able to come and look at her display but not buy anything. Now that's my kind of store!

I think I've become boring

2011-07-25T12:07:00.000-06:00

I read old posts I wrote and realize I used to be witty. In fact, I entertain myself as I read posts from three and four years ago. And now I sometimes feel like I have nothing to say -- or if I say it it's actually kind of boring. Have I been away from my career so long that I no longer know how to "spin" myself? Am I too tired to think of anything witty to say? Is having only 1/7 of my brain depleting the comedic parts and focusing solely on the necessities? I'm not bored with life or unhappy or depressed; so, exactly how and when did I get this way?

Oh, but if you ask my teenager, I am totally boring, no questions asked! However, in her mind I've always been this way ...

Pinewood Derby Winners

2011-07-12T08:46:00.000-06:00

Our pinewood derby was scheduled on a Saturday this year so we wouldn't have any conflicts with the building. The kids looked forward to it all week! (Okay, they got their cars in February, so they've actually been looking forward to it since then.) They cut out their cars pretty quickly, and then the boys got to work on the paint jobs. I thought it awesome that they both had names for their cars this year.

Tyler's car was "The Bullet" and Zachary's car was "Zebra Zoomer."

Here they are doing last-minute lubes to the wheels:

I love watching the boys' excitement as they're watching. Our boys got to race their car eight times each -- twice in each of the four lanes:

Shayla and Ella were excited to cheer on her brothers:

Zachary's car started a bit slowly -- he came in dead last his first two races. Paul went to lube the wheels again, and that helped tremendously. Zachary even came first in a heat or two, including this one:

Here's Tyler's coming in third in a heat, although it generally fared better:

At the end their cars all got awards. Zachary got "Best Zebra Design." Really? Good thing since he was the ONLY zebra design!

Tyler got "Best Ballistic Racer." He also got an award for being the fastest car in the Bear Den.

Needless to say, my boys LOVE the pinewood derby and already have plans for next year's cars. It is so fun to watch their excitement, and they're just fine not winning it all (phew!), although this mom of theirs likes them to come in first at least one heat to see their excited little faces. :)

Friendship, Babies and Life Changes

2011-07-07T17:17:00.000-06:00

In staying busy with life and the fun and challenges of summer, I almost forgot to mention that my bff Hilary had baby Melissa last month:

Hilary and I met at BYU about 14 years ago. Man that feels like several lifetimes ago! We were roommates our senior year and moved up to Seattle together. She's moved around tons (I think she said something like 12 times in their first 10 years of marriage?), but finally we live by each other again. And yet with our growing families we aren't able to talk or do as much together as I'd like. :( However, she invited me to be at the birth of her "miracle" baby Melissa anyway. (Miracle because she was "done" having kids for the last five or so years. :) I realized that even though we're not as close as we once were, we're eternal friends. You know, the kind you invite to your child's birth. She's been there for all of my boys' births (she was too far away for Shayla's), and I've been there for all of her girls' births. Needless to say, it's nice to have a built-in videographer -- especially one who understands your desires for modesty and to get a birth video you can show anyone. ;)

This birth was a lot of fun to be there for, because 1) Hilary got an epidural and was the life of the party (especially when she kept thinking her legs fell off the bed since she couldn't feel them anymore); and 2) She invited all of her sisters to come. Lee sat over in the corner and played on his laptop in bliss without his wife in pain. Melissa made her entrance at 12:30 a.m. on June 9 and weighed a whopping 7 lb. 1 oz. (about 2.5 pounds less than Hilary's last baby!).

Anyway, when Melissa was a few days old we took some pictures and had some fun with the little cutie. Taking pictures is a lot easier when babies sleep like you want them to (so they're easy to pose :). Photography (although a lot of work!) turns out to be a lot more fun when you actually feel like you got a lot of cute pictures from your "session."

Balloons!

2011-07-07T15:00:00.001-06:00

Every year the Freedom Fest in Provo has a Balloon Fest. It's pretty cool and we love going to watch the balloons. However, we haven't been in years, because the event STARTS at 6:30 a.m. That's soooo early! I guess the heat of the sun makes it too hard for the balloons to go up in the heat of day, so they have to start early. I was tempted to not go this year, but they advertised a Darth Vader hot air balloon. Um, hello -- we can't miss that!

So, we got up really early and headed over. Becca was gone to girls' camp, so we even had to wake up Austin to bring him. We got off later than I had hoped and really was worried we'd miss the Darth Vader balloon. But my sister Rebecca beat us there and let me know that it was just being blown up. Phew! We hurried over and were thrilled that there were also these guys:

Brown boys and Storm Trooper

Tyler, Imperial guy, Zachary

Tyler, Star Wars Pilot, Zach

This Snow Trooper said he blinked in this photo. :)

So much fun!

Tyler and Zachary aren't scared of Vader!

Austin: Vader? Where?

Austin was hilarious with Darth Vader, because he just ignored him. He knew that we passed him to Darth Vader, but I guess he figured if he didn't look at him it didn't matter. What a funny, funny boy! Totally opposite of my nephew Gavin, who had this reaction to a Storm Trooper:

(Such a classic pic I had to steal it from Rebecca's Facebook. :)

The Darth Vader balloon was definitely a favorite this year. In years past our favorite has always been the pig (which is still pretty cool):

But this year Vader was definitely the coolest. Apparently he's something like 86 feet tall and 75 feet wide. Or was it yards? I was so busy remembering the numbers that I forgot the measurement used. Helpful, huh?

Shayla didn't want a thing to do with any of the Star Wars guys. She liked the flower balloon best (and you can see Smokey the Bear to its left):

It was a great way to welcome the sunrise ... maybe even better than staying in bed (for one day, anyway :).

One of the best things about being a mom is seeing your kids thrilled with simple things like this. I love my family!

Downstairs Carnival

2011-07-01T15:25:00.000-06:00

I love that my kids are creative and can have fun with very little provided entertainment. In fact, I count on it for family gatherings, and I'm generally not disappointed. My brother Ryan's family wasn't able to join us for the family campout, so he came up later for us to see his fam.

While they were here, the kids disappeared into the basement for a bit, and then they wanted us all to come to their carnival. Fortunately everything was free! (Sometimes they draw pictures and try to sell them to us, but I'll only ever pay with hugs and kisses. They don't like that, but Grandma is usually willing to cough up some coins.)

Anyway, here were the signs at the bottom of the stairs advertising the puppet show, a scare chamber and fishing:

Here's the scare chamber in action:

I think the favorite of every adult was the "booth" with free massages. That little Kimmie has STRONG fingers -- she really should go professional one day! Here's Ryan getting his free massage from Zachary. Ahhhhhh:

And this has nothing to do with the carnival other than Shayla looked adorable the day of the carnival. What a cute Minnie fan:

Camp JJ

2011-07-01T15:11:00.000-06:00

Last week we got to go to the boys' cub scout day camp. Paul took the day off of work to accompany us since this is the only year both of our boys will be there. Our Tyler is lucky to have gone three years now -- most boys only go twice (Wolves and Bears), but because of how his birthday falls he was able to go right before his birthday the first time and then as a Wolf and Bear. He'll sure miss it next year! Zachary had a blast his first year. It was so fun to spend the day with Paul supervising 18 little guys having a blast!

Our cubmaster arranged for our pack to be in charge of the cub scout promise and leading the flag ceremony. Both of my boys got to participate (the advantages of having your mom as one of the leaders :), so Zachary lead the flag ceremony and Tyler lead the promise:

Here are the four Browns, with significantly less musical talents than the five Browns:

And here the boys are enjoying almost every minute of the fun:

Zachary in rain-gutter regatta

Tyler finally getting the form in archery

Zachary is sure he knocked over some pop cans

Zachary and Tyler loved maneuvering this huge boat

Getting instruction on how to fight (as if they need it!)

Fighting obviously makes boys happy -- look at T's smile!

These last two are when they got to fight another group. Tyler immediately took down the group's youth leader (pictured). He went down for the mandatory five seconds, and then Zachary got him right down again. He went down another five seconds, and when he popped back up Tyler took him right back down. He looked at me and said, "Man, these kids are getting me fast today!" I replied, "You've already been downed twice by the same kid already." He looked a little embarrassed, although I thought it hilarious. I guess all those years of my boys sword-fighting Uncle Gus paid off at scout camp!

Grateful for my "busy" life

2011-06-22T13:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure I ever mentioned that I'm now the Relief Society secretary. As such, I sit in on meetings where we talk about visiting teaching every month and make necessary adjustments. As we have discussed the needs (aka BUSY, BUSY lives) of various sisters, I am sooooo grateful for my version of a busy life. That said, I should probably clarify that my life really isn't very busy.

Yes, I have two callings (R.S. and cub scouts Bear leader) that require several hours of time every week. Yes, I have five children who all want my unlimited attention ... except the teen who sometimes wants to be alone but needs the attention. :) Yes, I have a husband who is in school in the evenings, so I have extra responsibilities that he used to cover. Yes, because of said husband's schedule the weekly lawn-mowing falls on my shoulders (which I sometimes share with Becca :). Yes, I have four people on my visiting teaching route now. Yes, I have two kids in piano lessons and have to "hold their hands" while they practice. Yes, my kids play soccer during the appropriate seasons, and yes, I attend all their programs and many field trips. Sounds pretty busy, right?

Well, actually it's just perfect. I have time to play with my kids when I so desire. I have time to socialize on Facebook and blogs, and even in person when I ever arrange it. I have time to visit my parents several times a week. I have time to go walking with a buddy every morning. I have time to make at least a weekly visit to the park with the kids and a friend. I have time to read books that I enjoy. I have time for family movie nights. I have time to watch my kids' latest tricks or read their latest books. I have time to scrapbook. I have time to veg in front of the TV in the evenings. I have time to get dinner made and have us eat together every night. I have time to just enjoy my life. (Which is why I probably don't have time to clean the house! ;)

There are definitely weeks when I feel a little overwhelmed, but right now especially (summer rocks!) I'm enjoying life pretty well. Just had to post a little gratitude. :)

Challenge Course Scare

2011-06-22T12:34:00.000-06:00

Man, I can't believe how fast time is flying by! I never wrote about our challenge course on the family campout. It was crazy scary. I mean the craziest, scariest thing I've ever done. (Or, rather in my case, the scariest, craziest thing I've not done.)

I wanted Zachary to go on it right away so he wouldn't see others getting scared and not do it himself. My brother-in-law Rob went first, and then it was Zachary's turn.

Let me back up a little and explain the course: First you climb up a log that is hanging vertically from a chain. (This means it can sway and spin around, both of which add to the scare/difficulty.) It also has no hand-holds, and the footholds (steps carved into the log) are far apart and aren't just left-right-left. I really wasn't sure any kids would ever get up the log!

Then after climbing up that you're sooooo high in the air and walk across a wire sideways while holding onto a lax wire at the top. (You have to make your arms stiff and lean into them a little to get across effectively.) From there you step onto a platform very high in the trees and then onto another platform to go down the zipline. I just wanted to do the zipline! But I digress ...

So, Zachary went up the log so fast I almost missed him doing it! I was so surprised he didn't even seem scared:

That's my little boy clear up there!

I was soooooo proud of him! He was such a brave boy! And I think that helped the other kids be brave.

Tyler lost his footing on the log up, so he just hugged the pole and climbed like a bear. I loved it! Here he is on his part:

As you can see in the last picture, he loved it! He might have been scared at the top, but he didn't show it.

Paul and Becca also did it without a hitch. Becca had done it before and obviously didn't warn us of the difficulty or we probably would have gone to a different zipline!

And then it was my turn. I knew it looked hard, but I was prepared. I can do hard things. That said, I decided to go up the log as quickly as possible, because the log looked like the worst part. It started spinning. It started swaying. And I got sick. I just kept thinking of how high I was (probably about 15-18 feet high) and how this was so insecure. I didn't know if I should use the difficult footholds for my hands, or if I should just hug the log. Needless to say, I sat there panicked just like this:

I just couldn't go on. It was too scary. I have discovered that I can be in high places as long as it's secure, but if it's an edge or something more insane like this, it terrifies me. I had seen my mom also have extreme fear about this point on the course, and she pressed through. I saw my nephew terrified to go down the zipline, but he did it. But I couldn't. So, I let them know I was giving up :( and they had me step off of the log and I swung down to the ground. Man! I was the only one in our family who was too scared to do it.

I later thought I should have just kept going and if I fell, the line would catch me just as it had when I stepped off the log. Duh. But I obviously didn't have that thought at the time. I really was bummed to not go down the zipline since I love them! Anyway, I hope I'll have a chance to do this challenge again in the future and that I'll actually be brave enough to complete it!

Family Campout

2011-06-08T12:22:00.001-06:00

Last week we had our Palmer family campout. It appears we're making this a bi-annual event, and it's a blast! Mind you, we froze our tooshies off the first night (well, everyone else did anyway), but it was a blast.

We arrived on Thursday and were told there was a mom and baby moose and a mom and baby bear in the area so to keep the kids on the pathways and such. Okay, not the best thing to tell a mom with an overactive imagination as it is. (My SIL saw the bear, and that night when I needed to go to the restroom I couldn't bring myself to go in the middle of the night -- what if I unknowingly met up with the bear? Sigh.)

Anyway, there was still snow on the ground at our campground and around the yurts. Any idea what a yurt is? We make sure to get a campground with yurts, which are basically round cabins. We feel very blessed to go to the Heber Valley Campground, because it has running water, a fridge and a fire pit for each campground. And each restroom is shared between you and one other campground. It's very nice, but you have to schedule a year ahead, thus our decisions to go when it was so cold ...

Friday morning we played Minute to Win It. My sister Rebecca had it all planned out, and it was a blast. Here are some of the "contestants" during their attempts ...

Becca trying to use a baseball in nylons on her head to knock over water bottles:

Tyler trying to get a marble into the one black square on the racquet by using only his body movements:

Zachary trying to catch pencils that were resting on the back of his hand:

Shayla trying to balance dice on a popsicle stick in her mouth:

Paul trying to blow cups off the table from a balloon he had to blow up:

The most difficult game that made everyone dizzy -- try to get 120 counts on a pedometer attached to your forehead:

And the most amazing feat? My brother Dustin rolled a quarter into the times of a fork:

I didn't think that one was possible.

The sweetest thing that happened was the last night of the campout. We had knelt down for family prayer, and Austin followed our lead and folded his arms and then cocked his head to the side. It was adorable! We tried to get him to do it again, and this is what I got:

As mentioned, my SIL saw a bear, but her baby bear is the only one I saw:

Shayla happened to pack her "Snow Princess" shirt, so of course I had to take a picture of her with one of the snow piles:

The boys LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Grandpa's swords. He brought them again, and they are always a hit. (If you haven't seen a yurt, you can look at this one in the background):

This was a game my dad brought. Each pipe has different holes and shapes. Then you put a golf ball in the end one and everyone tries to pass it along without dropping it. Some of the pieces were REALLY tricky -- you'd have to spin it over while the golf ball was inside of yours or it would drop. In any case, it took a lot of practice to finally get it through without dropping it:

Sometimes you just get a strikingly adorable picture you just have to share. That's what this is:

Honestly I don't think I've ever seen Gavin so relaxed:

Here are the babies enjoying some marshmallows. Okay, Austin is the only one who ate any, and he ate two! Gavin wasn't interested, and James isn't old enough so his were taken away (so he took the bag instead). This was at the end of the family movie where the girls were looking everywhere for the marshmallows. Different family members had various "conspiracy theories" to describe what really happened to the marshmallows, but it turns out that it was the babies all along:

And speaking of marshmallows, my mom brought up HUGE marshmallows! The one in Becca's hand is the normal "jumbo" size like with the babies above. The roasted one is one of the huge ones, and she knows how to roast them perfectly. She became the family roaster and made one for anyone who asked. Too bad there's not a scholarship for that!

We also roasted Starburst for the first time (well, Becca had done it before but the rest of us hadn't), and they were definitely YUMMY!

We also did a ropes course that was crazy scary, but I'll post about that later. For now dream of perfectly roasted marshmallows ...

Stamping and Bobcat

2011-06-05T10:08:00.000-06:00

One of the best things about being 8 years old for a little boy is that he gets to participate in cub scouts! My boys love it, and Zachary is one of 16 or 17 Wolves in his den. Yes, that's a lot of wolves!

Anyway, he has been so excited to get going and earned his Bobcat as quickly as possible:

Our pack also does a cool thing where they "stamp" the boys into the pack on their first pack night. Zachary has been with us to pack nights for nearly two years now, so he knew what was coming, but some boys get scared when they're turned around and everyone starts yelling to watch out (not knowing it's just chalk they'll get on their backs). It's a tradition that we love:

Zachary brings me his book several times each week to see what we can work on. I did have to tell him he was no longer allowed to wake me up at 6:30 to discuss what he can do for scouts! :) He is so excited about scouting that there will be no stopping this boy. Way to go, Zach!

Catching up

2011-06-01T16:05:00.000-06:00

I soooo love summer break! We finished school on Thursday, and it was crazy those last few weeks. Seriously, I wonder where May went. Today is Shayla's 5th birthday, but more on that later ...

First we'll start with Shayla's pre-school graduation. She was SO excited! She put on her class shirt, a cute skirt and we took pictures!

I had told the girls we'd have pink cupcakes for graduation, and then when I went to make them (at 9 p.m. the night before) I found I didn't have any paper liners. Yikes! I called several neighbors, who either weren't home or didn't have any themselves. One neighbor called me back at about 10 p.m. to say she had some, and we arranged to get them the next morning. However, the next morning I woke up with a stroke of brilliance (inspiration? :). Why not bake them in ice-cream cones? Especially because I have colored, cute cones! So that's what I did:

The girls loved them and I was able to get them done very early in the morning. Phew!

We had only one mom (besides myself) to the graduation, so the clapping wasn't much. I guess that happens when you only have a few kids. However, Shayla was totally excited anyway:

Becca finished up her art classes and is having lots of fun with her new-found talent. This is a self-portrait she did a while ago that I hadn't yet taken a picture of. Or did I? Mommy brain is eating my memory! Anyway, I think it's the best she's done (although she has an adorable on of Austin she's working on), so here it is:

And last weekend when we had a break in the rain we finally mowed the lawn. Paul decided it was time for Tyler to learn how, so he taught him. He left him to grab the weed eater out of the garage, and Tyler had gone crazy all over the lawn. I thought it was funny. Paul re-instructed him about how nice straight lines are:

He really was proud of himself for doing it, but he pointed out that he didn't want it for his chore. Mind you, once we get a riding mower (which we hope will be our next mower) I think everyone will volunteer to mow the lawn. :)

May Mahem

2011-05-18T15:11:00.000-06:00

May is always a crazy busy month, and I'm one program and one field trip away from being done with the craziness. Phew!

In the meantime, we had soccer make-ups (what is with the long winter?!?) and programs we had to juggle, and sometimes the juggling wasn't pretty. However, our evenings for the most part are now free. Awwww ... we'll have to find SOMETHING to do with all that time! ;)

Becca was in social dance 2 and even choreographed a country swing. This from the girl who came to us with no coordination whatsoever. So it was fun to see her do all kinds of moves and lifts. The first two are from her country swing; the last from the Viennese Waltz (my favorite since she actually smiled during it and she wasn't touching boys as much ;):

Tyler also did a dance program today, but I was so far back I didn't even try to get pictures. But I did get pictures of him during his Hershey Track meet -- he took second in this race:

His cousin Nick took first (same race, different heat):

For Mother's Day I was treated to breakfast in bed. The kids were such proud helpers. (Well, all except Becca who chose to sleep, especially when presented with the breakfast option.) It was delicious and I loved the kids' excitement:

For Mothers' Day I think I also got out of changing any diapers or making dinner. That alone makes the day great. However, they also got me a really nice book from the Carl Bloch exhibit we saw at BYU. It was a very moving, spiritual experience to go see that display and think of him painting so many images of our dear Savior. And this book will give me many of those images to keep, as well as more information about Bloch's life and artistic career.

And this week I had the joy to take pictures of my cute nephew James, who is now six months. I can't believe that! How can you not love this face:

Little Princess and Frog Princess

2011-05-17T17:33:00.000-06:00

My little princess has been busy, busy, busy, and my house is messy everywhere to prove it! This girl can carry around clutter and make a room a mess in no time. She is always busy doing "baby school" for Austin and his cousins (when they're together), and she wants to be doing 100 things everyday. Kindergarten couldn't come soon enough.

When we went to register her for kindergarten, she got so excited! She knows we take pictures the first day of school, so she had me take one to go register for kindergarten. Gotta love the snow boots:

And I took a picture of her before what I thought would be her last field trip. (Turns out she'll have another this week, so there will be one more chance for pictures. :) I am still lovin' the shirts I made them, and she makes it look so good:

My kids are determined to make money, and they often have "stores" to accomplish this. Their stores are drawings they've created. Well, I never spend any money, because I don't want to have them continue doing it! I tell them I'd love to shop there, but I only pay in hugs and kisses. Anyway, Shayla wanted to do this but apparently didn't really want to sell her stuff, so she said this was a "looking store." You could look, but not buy. That's my kind of store ... as long as she cleans up her mess, which she usually doesn't:

Shayla is loving learning to read. In fact, as I'm sitting here typing this she's reading the words she knows. I guess I won't have long before she's reading and editing what I write. ;) Anyway, she loved that she knew a lot of the words in Hop on Pop. Here she is reading it to Paul:

So at this point you're probably wondering about the reference to the frog princess? For the "Last Chance" dance at the high school Becca asked her "friend" to go with her by taking him butterbeer (leftovers from Zachary's birthday party) and chocolate frogs (made especially for him) and asked if he'd be her "frog prince" for Last Chance. He took a few days to respond, probably trying to figure out how to put this together:

He said yes, and Becca got to enjoy some cake. I was so sick of cake (this was just after Zachary's birthday and mine and Becca's) that I put dibs on the licorice only. :) So, he said yes, they had fun, and dances for the year are over. Phew!

BTW, here is a picture of them at last chance. Why in the world do the schools have things like "matching hats/shirts/bandanas" for almost every dance? Can't they just go and have fun and leave the matching to Sadies? Anyway, Becca came up with a cheap solution since I wasn't wanting to go pay for hats -- they both wore hats they've always wanted to wear but haven't. Becca just added a black bow to hers and a strip of purple ribbon to his (which I think was done after this pic):

Awwwww. :)

Cute little boy

2011-05-17T17:08:00.000-06:00

If there's one thing Austin does well, it's definitely that he can make anyone smile. He is great at it. Here are a few of his latest shenanigans ...

Can't remember if I've ever posted his favorite "chillaxin'" position. He'll be crawling, lean over to one side and just sit there. It's so funny, and it's how he first learned to sit up:

And our tissue boxes are no longer safe:

So, yes, if you need a tissue at my house it is one that has been stuffed out of the box and is therefore harder to get out the next time. But boy, did it provide some good entertainment for a little cutie!

And he was finally able to fit into this stylin' outfit we got when he was born:

Doesn't he look snazzy?

My favorite thing he does lately is play peek-a-boo. I'm not sure if this is what he was trying to do here, but he put his jacket on his head, crawled a little, then looked at Becca and laughed for an hour. He'll randomly put blankets on his head to play peek-a-boo, but he gets so excited he over-shoots his head and the blanket ends up around the back of his neck. You've gotta try it some time with him:

And, he's realized recently that he doesn't even need a jacket or blanket to play peek-a-boo. (Good thing since summer might finally be here.) So, he covers somewhere on his face to play, but that somewhere is generally one eye and one ear ... although once again in his excitement he often overshoots and gets both ears or the back of his head. I love it:

There is nothing like having a happy baby who makes everyone happy. We sure love our Aussie!

Zachary's big day!

2011-05-14T16:00:00.000-06:00

We had the great blessing on April 30 to have Zachary get baptized. I still can't believe the little guy who was my baby boy for so long is now eight! It started snowing the day before his baptism and continued all day. I really didn't think it would last, but the day of his baptism the earth here was "dressed in white."

We got to the church in plenty of time. Good thing since Paul forgot to bring his spare white shirt so I had to run home to get it. I guess he must have been a little stressed, because he also baptized Zachary with the wrong name! He said Zachary Tyler Brown instead of Zachary Paul Brown. You'd think he'd remember the name Paul. ;) I think he was so focused on making sure he got Zachary all the way under (it took three attempts with Tyler) that he went on pilot mode for the prayer and went to his standard way of calling the boys, "Zachary! Tyler!" It was hilarious.

Actually, I wasn't sure I heard right. I tried getting my dad's attention, but he was watching to make sure Zachary went all the way under the water. I started wondering if I just misheard since we often say the boys' names together, and I didn't want to interrupt this sacred moment. But then I asked my brother, and he said it sounded like Tyler to him, too. So as Paul and Zachary were exiting the font (since Zachary did go all the way under), they had to turn around and come back. Hilarious. (It made our neighbor feel much better, because he performed his first baptism on his brother and had to do it twice when his brother didn't go under all the way. But at least he said the right name! :)

Anyway, we are so happy Zachary was so excited to be baptized. What a blessing it is to have the gospel fulness in our lives and to love and worship our precious Savior and Redeemer. We are also so grateful that our Primary presidency has everyone write a message to the one being baptized -- it's a great way for everyone to share their testimonies and for the person baptized to remember the special day. (They are all put into a book for the child to keep.)

Here are pictures of my little man on his big day:

Look at that family photo -- I am one blessed mama! And if you told me 10.5 years ago before I got married that this is what life would be like in 10 years I would have never believed you. :)

Easter

2011-05-11T20:39:00.000-06:00

Easter ended up being a quick event at our house this year! We had much going on, so I was happy that the Friend Magazine gave us scriptures to read every night to prepare for Easter day. That made it special to us and helped the kids understand the last week of the Savior's life. I think we'll do that every year.

So, we didn't even dye eggs until Sunday morning before church. Once again we used the tye-dye kit since it is quick and easy and makes our eggs really bright and fun:

Then we had a quick hunt after church. Turns out it started raining so we had to make it quick! But we got some pics of the quick hunt:

Then when we came in it was time to open up the eggs. We don't do Easter baskets, so the candy the kids get is from the eggs. However, not all of them have candy. If you open one with a strip of paper you have to do what it says. It could be something like, "Tell a joke," "Sing your favorite primary song," "Say this tongue twister fast," etc. Here are some of the kids during this part:

And this has only slightly to do with Easter. When they were done dying eggs I told them to come let me take pictures of their colorful fingers. I took a bunch of pictures right in a row, and Zachary made a different face for each picture. I was cracking up so much I probably took 20 pictures of the pose and ended up with 20 different faces by Zachary. What a goofball:

Sweet Zachary turns 8

2011-05-11T20:17:00.000-06:00

April is our birthday month! Zachary turned 8 years old a couple of weeks ago. I still can't believe his surprise arrival -- not that he came (he was almost 2 weeks late), but that he was a boy!!! When he was born also marked my days of being a full-time SAHM. I have been very blessed to be here with my kiddos.

Anyway, Zachary's birthday party had to be late since we had other things going on. However, he was able to open his presents on his birthday. He got a scout shirt, a Lego set, and his own scriptures. He was so cute with his scriptures! He carried them around for days and days. He put bookmarks in a bunch of places and asked me to show him where specific stories were so he could put bookmarks there, too:

I think this picture is actually fewer bookmarks than when I originally saw, because there were also Pokemon cards as bookmarks originally. (He must have played Pokemon and needed to switch them out. :)

Then for his party he wanted a Harry Potter/Star Wars/Pokemon party. Really? Tyler had a water party once with a water Jedi and a water Pokemon, so Zachary figured he could just call his a "magic" party and include all three topics. I convinced him he had to pick one of the three, and he chose Harry Potter.

So I got to work. I made cute invitations using Harry Potter wording (Muggle clothing will be the dress attire; Send an owl with any questions; etc.), then rolled them up and delivered them via owl post. (Okay, the owl in this case was Zachary. ;)

I decided to make a snitch cake, so I had to go buy a ball cake pan. Fortunately our little candy shop in town had not only that, but a gold edible glitter. So I was set! I told the kids I think this is the best snitch cake I've ever made. They were on to me -- it's the only snitch cake I've ever made. Zachary thought for the picture he should be reaching out for it like Harry Potter does in his first Quidditch match:

I also got to work making very cool (and cheap! :) take-home items for the guests. First I bought wood dowels and had Paul sand them into the shape of wands. (This was very easy thanks to my dad's belt-sander.) Then I burned each guest's name on the wand. Then I used chocolate frog molds and made chocolate frogs. We experimented with white and milk chocolate and adding green food coloring to both, so we ended up with four colors of chocolate frogs. We also had to taste-test several Butterbeer recipes to find the best one so we could make it for the party. I mean, can you really have a Harry Potter party without chocolate frogs or butterbeer? ;)

We also bought Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean (okay, Jelly Bellies without the gross flavors ... except for coffee), and Tyler insisted he design pouches for them. I was going to print off a label, but Tyler was a nice brother to go to so much work (it took him a long time!). Their bags also had bouncy-balls (Snitches). Tyler also made galleons since he thought they should have to buy their goody bags.

Needless to say, here's what all their loot (sans Butterbeer) looked like. Awesome!

I think the kids had fun, because it was CHAOS! I nixed a couple of fun games as to not rile them up further. But we did play Moaning Myrtle; Wizard Duel; Who's got the Sorcerer's Stone; Keep Away from Lupin; etc. I love making ordinary games relevant! :) Tyler and I had a great idea for "Exploding Snap," which is mentioned in the HP books, but it definitely would have created more energy, and we were at my max. :)

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-05-09T23:29:00.002-06:00

So we've been busy, busy, busy! Well, except for last week when I tried to take it a little easy. I guess it didn't work very well, but here's a preview of a few things we've been up to:

Details to come ...

Learning curve

2011-04-22T20:43:00.002-06:00

My biggest and my littlest are both trying to learn new things, and neither have yet to master their skill ...

I decided when there was barely any food left in the container to let Austin try to feed himself. I really didn't think there was much food left in the bowl, but boy did he spread it out to look like a lot:

And Becca is trying to learn to drive. Well, not really. She's SUPPOSED to be trying to learn how to drive, but she's not interested. She now has to walk everywhere she wants to go, because we told her this is what would happen if she didn't get her learner's permit by her 17th birthday. (I don't get it -- I was chompin' at the bit to drive the second I could!) Anyway, I've asked her a few times to back the car out of the driveway so the boys can play basketball. She's just putting it in neutral, letting off the brakes and then stopping it when it gets to the street. At least that's all she's supposed to be doing. So how, exactly, does it get so crooked in the driveway?

Needless to say, I'm sure they'll both learn these skills ... hopefully sooner than later (and hopefully without any expensive messes ;).

School Fun

2011-04-18T14:10:00.000-06:00

This morning the kids are back at school after being home a week for Spring break. I sure love it when we don't have to get them out the door, but the quiet of today is nice, too. :)

Anyway, the day before Spring Break was a busy one -- a field trip, a feast and an unexpected trip to the dr. office ...

Zachary's grade got to go on a field trip to a farm. They have all kinds of little classes and things for them to learn. And they start the day off by shearing a sheep right in front of the kids and let them feel the wool fresh off a sheep:

(The mom next to me was hilarious -- she was so worried about the sheep and whether or not it hurt him. I assured her the sheep would be at least kicking if he didn't like it. :) Anyway, here is Zachary next to bees, which were very mild -- maybe because it was an overcast, cold day?

I was actually glad to leave the field trip a few minutes early because it was FREEZING! Some of the kids were asking when they'd be done, which is too bad since it could have been a really fun field trip. Anyway, I left so I wouldn't miss Tyler's big Hogwart's Feast.

I got to the feast just as they were finishing their celebration where they eat as much candy as they can shove in their faces. If you can believe it, this is how much candy was left AFTER Tyler's house ate all they could:

They also had pumpkin juice (cold) and butterbeer (warm) for the kids to drink up. Tyler liked them both. (I have to say I didn't care for the pumpkin juice but the butterbeer was okay. : ) Here he is enjoying:

Oh, notice he wore his Ravenclaw shirt? :) I love that he loves it. Also, his house won the house cup by 20 points!!! I can't believe it was so close. He got his house something like 1200 points by reading the HP series. All those points and so few separated them. In any case, here he is with the house cup:

I was so happy for him. After the feast they had a wizard's duel where they had to battle and try to get silly string on the person opposite them before the person across from them got them with silly string. Fun times!

Knowing it was going to be a busy day, I was even a little more stressed to wake up and find this:

I took him to the doctor and it turns out it was just a reaction from his antibiotic he had finished earlier in the week. Did it make Austin unhappy?

Not a chance -- just spotted. :)

Becca's birthday

2011-04-17T12:04:00.001-06:00

My birthday has to be over quickly, because the next day it's Becca's. :) She actually got a gift from "the boy" on my birthday, and we tortured her by telling her she couldn't open it until the next day. (We weren't serious, but I think the anticipation did her good -- she couldn't stop smiling all evening.)

In any case, we let her open it, and it was hilarious! She was GIDDY ...

... until she opened it:

I'm still not sure what she was expecting (and upon inquiry neither is she!). But fortunately she likes it now and would probably even give me a bigger smile than this:

From family "all" she got was clothes. However, she loves them and hopefully will even wear them! (Yes, she's one of those annoying teenagers who LOVES an outfit the day we buy it and then never wears it! Grrrr!) Here she is opening her Supergirl shirt:

We made her cheesecake for her birthday cake, and she loved that. (I wanted to do angel food cake, but Walmart was out. No wonder I generally do my grocery shopping elsewhere! I think she loved the cheesecake even more, so that's good!) Oh, and if you see Becca, don't mention this post -- she'd kill me then die of embarrassment. ;)

Happy birthday to me!

2011-04-17T11:55:00.000-06:00

So I had another birthday last week. That seems to happen every year! And the best gift I got? THE earrings. (You'll probably have to click on the picture to see the lovely earrings in their fullest):

Yes, they're gorgeous, aren't they? My sister and I got them for my mom when we were in Ohio visiting our oldest sister back in 1994ish. It was a joke, lest you think we ever liked them. When my mom opened them she said she was worried they wouldn't match anything. We assured here it had every color possible and would match ANYTHING. My poor mom was in a tight spot for a little bit until she realized we were joking.

Needless to say, since that time they've become "the gift." I wrapped them up for my mom to open on Mother's Day while I was in the MTC; Rebecca got them as a graduation gift when she became a pharmacist; I think Rebecca also got them as a bridal shower gift? In any case, they've gone back and forth during these almost 20 years (that long?!!) that it's getting harder and harder to pass them on as a surprise.

My mom sure surprised me this year. Paul told me in the morning he had something special for me. Hmmmm. Then while we were eating dinner, he pulled out a VERY NICE box from a jewelry store. (No worry about me being all excited to get a real gift -- I was more unimpressed that he had spent a lot of money! :) So I opened it and there were the earrings. Of course we snapped pictures to document the occasion (which also happens to capture the fruit loop necklace I got from Zachary).

Sad news for my mom is that my dinner was so yummy I forgot to call her after I ate it ... so she had to wait in anticipation until the next day to hear since she couldn't very well ask if I had gotten them yet. Ha! Now to figure out who to give them to next ... and how ... :)

April Fool's

2011-04-02T21:00:00.001-06:00

So this year's April Fool's joke food ended up being a bit harder than I imagined. Tyler has been home from school with a fever all week, so I had to make it while he was home. I had planned on making a "pizza" and telling them it was their after-school snack. I planned to even bake a real pizza so the smell was legit.

Well, I had to put the pizza together piece by piece so I wouldn't get caught. I figured I could keep it easily from Shayla, but it was a little harder from Tyler. But I did it! I got it put together and put in the oven.

I had purchased the ingredients early (phew!), and I baked the cake that morning. I also made cupcakes in case Tyler asked about the smell (which oddly he didn't). I made frosting and colored it red and grated white chocolate. I had intended to buy fruit roll-ups, and when I went to get them they had writing all over them. Aaaggghhh! So I got the fruit-by-the-foot roll-ups and hoped they would work. The next time I was at the store I saw some fruit strips in the baby aisle and thought they might look more like pepperoni, so I grabbed them. Good thing, because the fruit-by-the-foot roll-ups had a wavy pattern that would have never worked! So I used the baby strips instead. Phew! At the last minute I also decided to cut up a green jelly bean to make it look like green peppers. I think it ended up looking pretty real, although a little small:

Anyway, I actually fooled Becca for a little bit. Then when she got close enough she said, "What is that?" I said (while giving her THE look), "It's a PIZZA." She got it and dropped it. Tyler didn't say a thing -- he just ate it. (Not sure if this means he cared or not that it wasn't pizza.) Shayla said, "Why does everything on it taste so good?" What a cutie! Before Zachary got to the table with his slice he said, "This isn't pizza!"

So, another joke down, and I had everyone for at least a second. My kids are getting too smart. I'll have to stick with breakfast things before they get to school and reminded that it's April Fool's Day. Keep the ideas comin! :)

Austin's perfect pictures

2011-03-31T14:29:00.000-06:00

I have been dreaming about this set-up for months. I made several hats so I could pick the perfect one. I scoped out which balloons to buy and use. I went through my scrapbooking paper to make the perfect banner. And I knew how I'd make the cake. I have to say I wasn't disappointed in the least bit! At the end I decided to have my friend Autumn take them so I didn't have to stress about my camera, and I'm so glad I did. How adorable are these?

Okay, non-cake ones first just to keep the suspense ...

And now for the perfect pics, as if the above ones aren't cute enough!

Performance time

2011-03-30T14:11:00.000-06:00

Shayla had her dance performance, and it was ADORABLE!!! There is nothing a 4-year-old girl can do wrong in a dance performance, because it's all so stinkin' cute! We curled her hair up good and she looked adorable. I seriously looked forward to this for a long time. What a cutie!

Shayla in costume

Performing -- Shayla on right

After her performance -- so happy!

Austin's birthday

2011-03-29T18:43:00.002-06:00

My baby is one!!! He is seriously such a doll. He is the happiest baby I have ever met, and I've met some happy babies. :) I tell people if all babies were as good as he is they'd have 20. Good thing, huh, since they turn into toddlers and teens! ;)

Anyway, we enjoyed his birthday in full-force. I took him to get professional pics from my talented friend Autumn (pics to come), and we did a cake smash at her house. I'm so glad we did, because he decided he didn't like cake and wouldn't even eat a bite of it for the family cake smash. Sigh ...

Anyway, here he is with Austin from the Backyardigans. This is the last of my monthly shots of Austin and Austin:

And, just as a reminder, this is how the A&A pics looked to begin with:

It's always amazing to see how much they've grown.

As for opening presents, he LOVED it -- I bet you can't tell. (Shayla picked the wrapping paper, so pretend you don't notice that it says Merry Christmas. :) I had wanted to get him a couple of books I know about, but Walmart didn't have any of them. We did get him one book from there and some stacking toys. The boy could open a dirty sock and be happy. ;)

So after Austin opened his gifts my other "babies" had a blast trying to get him to play with it. These moments are the ones that make a mom's heart melt:

Then we had a family cake smash with a few of his cousin-friends. Here he is with Gavin (6 weeks younger than Austin) and James (4.5 months old). These three are sure to be trouble soon enough:

Then it was time for the boy to dig in:

This part reminds me of Tyler, who barely touched his first birthday cake:

As mentioned, he already knew he didn't like it, so there was no need to taste it. I'm surprised he made the connection, because the two cakes looked nothing alike! Oh well -- I've got a smart one.

This is at the end -- look how clean his face still is:

And I figured family wouldn't want to eat the cake that had been smashed, so I made another one for them all to eat. I saw something similar while looking for a cool cake to make for Paul and couldn't resist making it this year for Austin:

The kids had a blast "designing" their own aliens. I have to say that cute cakes are the bomb!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it had been nice the day before (no snow on the ground), and then it snowed all day on Austin's birthday! We had to document that, poor boy:

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-03-28T15:49:00.001-06:00

So we've been having a lot of fun and I have a few more pictures to post.

First, one I forgot to include from the old camera -- a self-portrait of Becca. She's decided that self-portraits are cool, so she takes them every time she uses the camera. Without fail. At least I finally convinced her that she needs to be straight on or above her face instead of below it. (If you wonder why, try an up-the-nostrils shot and you'll quickly find out. :) Since she was home this time she must have been wanting to capture her hair, which she now spends hours on:

Also, we LOVED watching Jimmer Fredette and his BYU team. Us and the rest of the nation. :) So, we had to go see him in person one time before he leaves BYU. We were very luck to go to the last game of the year, which also meant we got Conference Championship posters of the team. Go Cougs!

Can you believe that shot of Jimmer in the air? Just think if I had my nice camera with the zoom -- I would have gotten some great shots. :) Funny thing is I'm not sure if me or Shayla took this picture. Either way, it's a good one.

Last year we were horrible visiting temples as we had planned, so this year we kicked it off good by visiting two temples in one day. That's easy when they're so close -- from the Oquirrh Mountain Temple we realized we could see the SLC Temple, the Jordan River Temple and the Draper Temple. Isn't that amazing? We'd already visited SLC and Oquirrh Mountain, so this year we visited the Draper and Jordan River. We got to tour the Draper Temple, which was an awesome experience. And I just recently found out that my second mission president is now temple president here. The first pic is the Draper Temple, and the second is the Jordan River Temple.

I was so grateful that we went -- I was amazed at what my kids would notice and point out. It really is a cool experience to teach them to look for symbolism on the building and grounds and have them understand what you're doing. I need to make a srapbook of the temples we've visited so far!

And last, but definitely not least, we celebrated Paul's birthday!!! The geek is 30-something. And boy did I make a geeky cake for him:

Here it is with the motherboard I copied:

My boy was soooooo happy! He loved the capacitors (???) and wondered if the wires were real. Nope, everything was edible! He said I didn't have to include one element (no idea what it's called) that is no longer used, but I told him I consulted another geek (our friend Scotty), and was informed that even if I used old elements that it would be nostalgic. When I said this Paul laughed and nodded his head -- he agreed completely. It was a lot of fun to try to mimic this old motherboard, but man was it harder than I thought it would be!

Photographing Everyday Life

2011-03-28T14:19:00.003-06:00

So I haven't posted in a while and therefore didn't mention about my nice, wonderful camera being broken. It was, of course, horrible timing. I had been asked to photograph Shayla's dance recital by the teacher, for which she gave me a free ticket. The camera stopped working on Wednesday night, and the recital was Saturday night. I called the repair shop and he said it would take three weeks to get finished. THREE WEEKS without my camera?!? When I asked, "Really? Oh, man!" the nice man asked when I needed it back. I mentioned the dance recital and he said for sure not for that. However, when I told him it was my baby's first birthday the following week he said he'd rearrange and get it done. Phew!

In the meantime we've got the old camera to use. I emptied off the card and realized that Zachary and Shayla have used it quite a bit to take pictures. My budding little photographers captured things I may not have ever captured myself about our lives.

I'm sure if any of you have called here you've always wondered what phone we're using. ;) Well, now you know. We have six handsets but are only using four of them -- three on the main level and one upstairs. So although it seems like a lot, sometimes still I can't find any of them while the phone is ringing:

In all of our addition photos I'm guessing we never posted a picture of our new family room ceiling fan. We spent enough time and trips to multiple stores to agree on one, so it's definitely worth a picture, too:

This pic shows I haven't uploaded pictures from this camera for a while. No, I don't still have spider webs (fake ones anyway ;) on my banister -- this is from Halloween. This landing is what we call our Rameumpton since it seems so high and mighty.

The kids are starting to understand games a lot more now, which is a lot of fun. Here we are playing Bang! Our latest is Settlers of Catan, and they love it. (I also love it because it doesn't take nearly as long as I originally thought.) Other favorites include Doodle Dice, Blokus, Battleship, Bonanza (the bean game), Ticket to Ride, TransAmerica, etc.

I still love my photos on the wall. Only thing is that I took new pics to put up months ago and still haven't gotten to it. I'll have to make that happen soon.

Yes, that's right -- I take off my shoes and socks the second I can. If the kids see me at home with shoes on they know that means I'm not home to stay. What you can't tell from this picture is that I'll wear flip-flops or sandals any time I can get away with it -- even in the middle of winter sometimes.

Yes, we have a loop and the kids sometimes use it. :) Growing up our house had a "loop" where we could literally run circles all day long. My younger brother (whose bedroom was under the kitchen part of the loop) vowed he'd NEVER have a loop. Can you believe with our addition we added this loop, as well as one that can go upstairs and downstairs? And as you can see from Shayla running away, this loop gets used! (In the background Becca is getting her hair done for Sweethearts. :) Oh, and my brother who vowed he'd never have a loop has one. Fortunately for him his baby can't even crawl yet so there isn't any loop-running in his house ... yet.

This picture captures something you can find ANY day of the week at our house: Zachary's dirty socks. I had to buy him and Tyler different socks so I knew who was to blame for the dirty socks on the floor, and the only time it has been Tyler's is when Zachary wore Tyler's by mistake. Sigh. Maybe one day he'll find the hamper without being told!

Yes, we have scouts at our house every week. I love that we don't have to go elsewhere to do it. And we love that it is with Tyler and his friends right now. It's a sweet calling that I've enjoyed and am glad I don't have to give up with a new calling I've received. This also proves we do the Cub Scout Oath every week ... and that Tyler isn't always necessarily paying attention. ;)

If I didn't have a picture would I ever record how much Paul loves the Sunday color comics? It's the first part of the paper he reads every week. We both love Dilbert (having worked in cube environments) and he has to get his weekly fix. He also enjoys looking through the rest of the paper and NOT recycling it when he's done. :)

This picture shows two things: 1) I still love this man I married -- he makes me smile almost every day. And 2) If you drop by my house, 99 percent of the time you'll find a basket or two of clean laundry in the family room waiting to be folded. Or just folded and not put away. I'm notorious for not putting things away until I need the laundry basket the following week, because I only do each person's laundry once per week and then I'm done until the next week.

This is Becca doing yoga. She says she LOVES it. She's nuts. Of course, she's obviously not doing a bunch of it right if she's in jeans, but she tries once in a while. And again, the laundry in the background ...

And, finally, who doesn't love a picture of a cute little guy? (And I'm not talking Cookie Monster this time. :)

By the way, I got my camera back and can resume "normal" pictures. I didn't have it in time for Paul's birthday, but I got it in time for Austin's. Pictures to come ...

Crazy hair and cute puppies

2011-03-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Shayla is loving her pre-school. It's no wonder when they do fun things like crazy hair day! She was up and ready for school early one day last week so she could get crazy hair:

(Amazingly this style lasted all day! There is a toy ketchup bottle under the hair holding it straight up.)

And this week for pre-school we went to see puppies! I figured the girls would love sweet, soft adorable little puppies, and they did. (And fortunately nobody dropped one like Shayla did last year -- oops. :) Here is Shayla getting some puppy love:

My boys didn't want to miss out on the fun, so I took them the night before to make sure they got to see the cute little puppies:

Amazingly, the only one who didn't like them at all was Austin. Maybe he was just tired. But when we put the puppy on him, he just held his hands high so they wouldn't touch the puppy, and then he did the whole "if I ignore it maybe it will go away" thing and wouldn't even look at it. Finally Austin pushed it away and got a very sad face:

We'll have to try again with him another day to see if he likes them better.

After seeing adorable little puppies I am always grateful I have a husband who is allergic so the kids don't whine and beg to take one home! :)

Goofy boy

2011-03-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

When he's not disgusting, Zachary can be quite sweet. And lately he's discovered his goofy side. We can probably thank a specific quadruplet for this since he's Zachary's class clown buddy (or should I say example? :). Anyway, Zachary was walking around like this the other day, and it cracked me up:

Doesn't it look like he was born without a body? You know, just legs with a head on top? It really looked realistic, which is part of what made it so funny. Anyone know how to join a freak show? I guess they probably don't even have them any more, so we'll just keep him. But if you'd like to see a bodyless boy, I can give you a peek for only $5 each ... ;)

Marbulous Monday

2011-03-07T15:15:00.001-07:00

My kids are huge fans of our marble run called Marbulous. We got a kit for Christmas years ago and they have loved it ever since. Shayla got it out again one day while the kids were at school, and I was surprised that she had so much fun alone -- I didn't realize she loved it this much! No, these are not posed pictures. She was just playing and smiling huge because she LOVED it!

Anyway, I realized that I should check to see if they still have this particular brand so we could expand our set. Turns out there aren't many of this brand left, so I ordered a box to make sure we have them for years to come.

The kids got the new set and are having a blast! I'll admit to it -- even Paul and I enjoy playing with this. It's just cool! Becca made a very complicated set of runs, and the kids loved it! They'd say where they were going to put the marble in and predict where it was going to come out. They did this about six times before ever getting one right:

And, can you guess who got to tear it apart when we were done?

Magically Marbulous!

Lookin' good

2011-03-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Things are lookin' different around here ... can you tell why?

Zachary

Last year when Tyler got new glasses the frames we found were "The Last Airbender." Whatever, but he liked the design on the sides. Well, we rented the movie The Last Airbender and they loved it! They got it for Christmas and really enjoy it. So, when Zachary had to pick glasses, he found these frames -- the same style as Tyler's from last year, just in blue -- he HAD to get them. And now they know what the images on the side represent (water, air, fire and earth). I kept trying to get him to try on other pairs to see how others would look (since we ended up liking Tyler's free pair more than his Airbender pair), but Zachary wouldn't go for it and insisted on these. At least they look nice! :)

It so happens that Tyler got new glasses, too, but I haven't gotten around to taking a picture of him wearing them yet. And we found an ADORABLE pair that looks great on Shayla, so boy was she bummed when they said she doesn't need them yet. :)

Hero Grandma

2011-02-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Zachary participated in his school's after-school writing club, and their topic was heroes. The instructor asked them to write two stories, one on themselves and one on a hero. Last night we went to the reading, and Zachary read his piece, "Grandma Palmer." He was hilarious writing it, because he kept asking me more and more information about Grandma, but then when I'd give it to him he'd say, "I don't want to write that." For example, when I said he could write that she has 26 grandkids, he said he didn't want it to be wrong when people read it later. I said he could write she has "more than" 25 grandkids and it would still be accurate. Nope. So then I'd ask him what he wanted to know, and he couldn't come up with anything. Gotta love "homework." :)

Needless to say, for the occasion we took a picture of Zachary and his hero (who freed her superhero schedule to come to the reading :).

Zachary and Grandma

And, in case you wanted to read them, here are his stories. I love it when children write!

"Grandma Palmer"
by Zachary Brown

My Grandma is my hero. She is my hero because she is really nice and when I ask for food, she lets me have the food I ask for. She has a brother and a sister. Her dad died when she was just 11. He died because of an enlarged heart. She was married when she was 18. She has 8 children. Her mission was at Omaha. Her favorite food is Mexican food. She likes doughy cookies and crunchy French fries.

Her favorite movie is Snow White. Her favorite thing to do is scrapbook. Her favorite book is Follow the River. She is more than 63 years old. Her birthday is April 15th. Her fourth baby (my mom) was due on her birthday, but came four days early. When I go over I always play with my cousins who live next door. What did she do when her dad died you might ask well they were poor and her mom had to go to work.

"Me"
by Zach Paul Brown

My name is Zach Paul Brown. I was born in Washington. I wrote this book when I was 7. I have blue eyes. I have blond hair. My favorite food is a banana. And my favorite movie is Star Wars. My favorite book is Magic Tree House. My best friends are Carter Baldwin and Thomas Baldwin. My favorite thing to do is play the Wii.

My favorite color is blue. My favorite sport is soccer. I used to play on the Charge Team. The Meeks brothers were on my team. My mom was the coach.

I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers. My older brother's name is Tyler. He goes to Spanish Oaks in fourth grade. My younger brother Austin is a 10-month-old baby. He has brownish-blond hair. My sisters are named Becca who is in eleventh grade and Shayla is in preschool. There are 7 people in my family. My mom's name is Denise and my dad's name is Paul. I'm lucky to have his name as my middle name. My cousins and I started a kids next door club called the Kids Next Door Club.

I like doing Family Home Evening. We have a chart where everyone moves -- Activity, Conducting, Lesson, and Treat, Music and Memorization of the Articles of Faith.

Potpourri of Fun

2011-02-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun things happening around here. I guess with five kiddos, that is a guarantee. :) I don't feel like I've gotten much done as I've held a sick and clingy baby lots this week! Austin has bronchiolitis (most likely from RSV), so his cough is so sad. :( And he wants his Momma and generally won't go to anyone else. So, we've been hanging around at home a bit and hope he gets better soon.

But other things move forward ... For example, Zachary lost another tooth, which left him without his two front teeth for a bit:

Last weekend we had our Blue and Gold Banquet. The theme for the cake contest was Be Prepared. How does one make a cake for that? Anyway, Tyler just used blue and yellow M&Ms to spell out "Be Prepared" on cupcakes and won third prize. There were other cakes there that were really cool, but the contest apparently focuses on the theme:

Paul doesn't get much time on my blog, so here's his moment of "fame." ;) The Sunday before last we had our good friend Scotty visit from Virginia. We LOVE his family and miss them terribly. (We're counting down the days until they return to Utah. When is that, Marilee? ;) Anyway, as two geeks who like geek talk, Scotty and Paul swapped phones and played around to determine what they like and don't like about each style. Geeks!

For school Tyler's still in his Harry Potter section. He's now finished with five of the books (!!!) and still going strong. Yesterday he got to play Seeker for the second time and again caught the Snitch. Sad I missed it, but I can't go every week just in case! :) Anyway, for his book report about the Goblet of Fire he wanted to make a goblet. I asked if he wanted to make one out of foil or if he wanted to paper mache one. (Of course, I had to explain paper mache to him. :) He chose the latter, and we got to work. Turns out this is the boy who loves clean hands, so once we got going he wouldn't even put his hands into the mess. Zachary, on the other hand, was right in there helping me put it together. Hilarious! Anyway, we let it dry for two days, spray painted it silver and he put his book report (in sections) in the goblet. He was pretty happy with the final product:

When Austin isn't as grumpy he's wanting to play with EVERYTHING. He doesn't crawl yet, but he can get pretty much wherever he wants to go, although I don't think he has translated this to places across the room (phew!). His latest love? Legos. He'll fit in well in this home!

And Shayla and I have been making more flower clips for her hair. I found what I consider to be the perfect size, so we made a bunch. Too bad she thinks that means she has to wear more than one at a time. I've perfected the, "Let me fix it before we go into the store" and pocketing one or two until we return to the car. Other days I just don't care and she gets to have a few flowers in her hair. Gotta love that little girls love frills, flowers and PINK!

We also had the opportunity to go to a tea party at the library for little girls and their Mommies. She dressed up completely like a princess and loved it. They got to learn proper etiquette, decorate fans and have the cutest little refreshments (a mini pink cupcake, a pink wafer and pink lemonade).

I caught some AWESOME clearance at Kmart and got her another set of matching dresses for her and Ella. I love getting things like this for less than $5!

She was hilarious posing them in so many ways. This reminds me of Lion King:

And I suppose all the neighbors can blame the snow on my cute little Snow Princess. Shayla wore this shirt and headband all around yesterday, even to the boys' school for the writing club program. Here she is posing herself once again, and I think in the second one she's just beautiful. Gotta love little girls:

Baby Cuteness

2011-02-17T09:44:00.003-07:00

Okay, so from the title you think I'm going to post more pictures of Austin, right? Not this time. :) This is a plug for my niece's new business, Alyssa's Baby Creations. She seriously makes the cutest things! I mean, have you ever seen diaper creations like these:

And although the diaper creations are my favorites, she also does blankets, burp cloths, car seat tents, etc. Here are a few of my favs ...

This one is crocheted around the edges with yarn and is soooo soft!

These are her matching blankets and burp cloths, which also are crocheted around the edges:

Here is the car seat tent she made out of Cat in the Hat material for a kindergarten teacher:

And look how she's wrapping the blankets and burp cloths for delivery! Adorable:

Check her out and keep her in mind if you have a baby shower coming up or new loved one joining you soon. Check out all her cute stuff at alyssasbabycreations.blogspot.com. (And if you forget it, I'll have the link on my sidebar from now on. :)

Sweethearts

2011-02-15T19:25:00.004-07:00

Saturday night was the big date! Becca had her sweethearts dance and had a ball! We feel so blessed to have so many friends and family who were willing to share their talents. One neighbor sewed sleeves on the previously sleeveless dress in exchange for free babysitting from Becca. My niece Alyssa came over and did her hair beautifully once again. And my friend Leslie even offered to help me clean the kitchen! (You were saved this once, Leslie. ;)

Anyway, Becca was soooo excited! Not only does she love a fun date, but this one was with a crush (if I'm allowed to say that?) and I made her favorite (chicken alfredo) for dinner.

Here she is sitting patiently while Alyssa curls her hair strand by strand:

And here she is ready to go. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Here's her group, who came to our house for games and dinner before the dance:

(I love that all the girls were completely modest.)

We had sent the other kids to Grandma's and Grandpa's house to keep them out of the way, but we kept Austin home with us since he'd been a little cranky with teething (hopefully teething, anyway :). He LOVED watching the action and when we were finishing up the dishes he kept peeking around the corner at the group in the family room:

Here he is from the other side:

Becca didn't mind showing off her adorable little baby brother at all. In fact, I think she took pride in having such a cute baby to share.

Here she is with her date, a neighbor named Kyle:

(Goofballs!)

She had a blast and can't wait to go out with him again ... of course, after she dates the obligatory two boys in between. :)

KND and a little Quidditch

2011-02-13T10:23:00.004-07:00

So, you may remember that my dad built my kids a clubhouse. Well, obviously they can't have a clubhouse without a club.

One day returning home from my mom's house I saw the boys had a bunch of soda can tabs. I asked what they were doing with them. Turns out they are the "money" for their new club, the Kids Next Door club. I got to hear various details and figured it was a one-time thing. Not so.

A few weeks ago I heard Tyler saying he needed to take his KND book (which sounds a lot like candy when they just use the initials) to school so people could sign up. Apparently only the general or second general can add new members. (Kimmie was the general, Tyler is the second general.) But some friends were earning the right to be in the club, because they earned their snow running badge that day. (??????)

I mentioned to my sister about Kimmie being the general, and apparently Kimmie wasn't aware of this. So, we asked Kimmie if Tyler could be the general (since she obviously didn't care and he's LOVING this new club), and she said sure. It's hilarious to see how many kids want to join this club that Tyler has talked up. I think we're in the teens of how many members there are now.

So Tyler and Zachary planned a meeting for all the KND members. I figured I'd be a cool mom and make them badges, so I asked Tyler what badge he'd like them to earn at the meeting. He said Defense Against the Dark Weapons. (Can you tell he's been reading the Harry Potter series? :)

We had the meeting, and they earned their badge and played ninja attack. Some of the friends couldn't make it, so they have had several meetings since to make sure all the members get their badge. Here are the first earners of the badge:

And here are the co-founders after earning their badges (including the extremely happy non-general Kimmie :) :

And the First General himself:

Speaking of this general, he is also playing Quidditch in his school. For 13 weeks they have a whole Harry Potter theme, which I mentioned before when he was sorted into the Ravenclaw house. Well, as a part of this whole thing, they play Quidditch every Friday.

How does one play Quidditch? It's a little complicated to explain, but easy to play. They tape three hula hoops up onto the wall, which is where people can get points by throwing the blue balls. (Each team stays on their side of the center line, but they have to throw them to the hula hoops on the opposite side.) Only the two Beaters can throw the black balls, and if you're hit by a black ball, you're out. And if you don't go out after getting hit, the other team gets a penalty shot where they get to throw the balls at the hoops with only the Keeper (goalie) to defend it. There is one Keeper per team to defend all three hoops. And the Beaters can't get out since they are the Beaters. Each team has one Seeker, who can go on either side of the court. They are to catch the snitch, which is a tiny bouncy ball that is not thrown out until some unknown time during the game. Each team gets 5 points for each blue ball that hits in the hula hoops, and they get 50 points if their Seeker catches the snitch.

That said, I went to watch and it was so much fun! Tyler got to be the Seeker for his first game, and he got the snitch so fast I'm not sure the other Seeker even saw it. I'm glad about that, because some of the games the Seekers are wrestling each other trying to get to the snitch. Tyler was SO excited! He practices catching the bouncy ball at home so he can catch the snitch better. (Unfortunately the men teachers run the game, and they are more into winning rather than making sure all the kids who want chances get them. But at least Tyler got his chance once and proved he's a great Seeker. :)

Anyway, here is a picture of him on the sidelines with the action happening behind him (of two different houses playing):

Rah! Rah! Ravenclaw ....... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (his team's cheer)

My sweet baby

2011-02-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Austin is growing up. I guess kids tend to do that. Last week he finally started rolling over, and now there's no keeping him on his back. (Of course, he still hasn't figured out the tummy to back thing, but he doesn't want to be on his back so that's okay. :) He also finally grew his first tooth!!! He was cranky for grandpa (what?!?) and the next day had his first tooth. My two littlest are so silly (as if they can help it) -- their first tooth was on the top. Really? Anyway, once it's actually in farther we'll post a picture, but for now you'll just have to trust me.

I guess it's been a couple of weeks of firsts, because he also got his first haircut last month. He was pretty good, although about half-way through he decided he needed to find out what was going on. Luckily Alyssa is used to kids and handled his wiggles with ease. (Much different story than Tyler's first haircut, where we got a full refund!) Here are the pics ...

Before:

During (duh!):

After:

Here is his 10-month-old picture with Austin:

We think he has been passed up (in weight, anyway, maybe not height?) by his cousin Gavin. No wonder since Austin is not the greatest eater. We have to trick him into eating. You know, get him to smile and shove in some food. Tickle him to get him to laugh and shove in some more. He's got a mean left-hook (what I call it) where when he doesn't want food he'll swing his left arm back and forth to prevent you from getting the food to his mouth, little stinker!

And the cutest thing is that Austin is getting baby school. Yup, you read right. He's in baby school. This was invented and implemented by Shayla. Every morning when she hears he's awake she goes in to give him baby school. It's adorable, although I haven't really figured out what he's learning. But he is happy, and she is happy, and I am happy. Here's a cute pic I caught from last week's baby school:

Apparently it was a really rigorous day:

That's all about my sweet baby for now. I mean, how can you not love this adorable face?

Becca's shirt fun

2011-02-07T11:36:00.003-07:00

Becca didn't want me to make her a shirt. I offered repeatedly to make her one that says, "Boy Crazy," but for some reason she declined ... ;)

Anyway, she had her own shirt fun. The next formal dance (Sweethearts) is girls-choice, so she decided to ask her latest crush. (I think this makes for more than 200 crushes in her short life, but fortunately I don't think she's counting anymore.) I digress.

So to ask this kid, we bought a shirt at the dollar store. Then we used permanent colored sharpies to write, "Will you go to Sweethearts with me?" and her name (in a different color). Of course, I had to write most of this so he wouldn't recognize her handwriting. Then we (Becca, me, Tyler and Zachary) used all different colors of washable markers to write names of other girls he's friends with:

She's pointing to her name. :) We attached a note that said he had to wash it to find out who was asking.

Several days later the shirt was returned like this:

Becca is pointing to the one she thinks will remain. (And if you want a little kick, go back up to the old picture and compare it to the smile in this one. I wonder if she's more happy asking or being answered? ;)

Only problem is that the boy didn't do it nearly as well as we did, so when she washed it there were four answers left: yes, no, maybe and aaaahhhh! She knew he was going to say yes, but it threw her off a little to have more than one answer remain.

The next day when he asked if she found his answer she said, "I think so," and told him a few hadn't washed out. Turns out he was trying to be tricky and had written on the tag a yes in a heart and had planned for all of the other things to wash out. Oops. And, by the way, don't let those "washable" markers into my house! :)

The big date is this weekend, which means we have much preparing to do. She has her dress (which a neighbor put sleeves on for us, thank goodness), her jewelry and her plans. Now I just have to clean the house and make sure we have all the ingredients for chicken alfredo (Becca's favorite) since they're coming here for dinner. Wish me luck! :)

1,000 words is worth a picture ;)

2011-02-07T11:03:00.006-07:00

I've been having fun making shirts for the kids and as gifts for others. My sister showed me the technique and I've loved it ever since! The possibilities are endless, and I LOVE it!

First, I decided I better make some gifts for friends. So, I made a few for my friend's baby. (She was quite happy to be my Guinea pig while I figure this out. :) I love how they all turned out:

Sorry to my scrapbooking friends, but this last one is true. My friend is the bestest scrapbooker I know!!!

In any case, this got me busy doing shirts for my own kids. I decided to make one for Tyler about being in the Ravenclaw house. I found what I considered a great Harry Potter font, and Tyler was thrilled:

And the best news? He got a house point for wearing it! How cool is that?!? He was so happy.

I also wanted to highlight how much he has read this year. His teacher has a 75-hour club and a 100-hour club. Once they have read at home for 75 hours, the teacher will buy them any book out of the Scholastic book order (I think up to $10 or something). However, if they read 100 hours at home, he will buy them any book they want in the world, any price. (He said last year he paid more than $100 for four Star Wars books for kids. I'm sure Tyler will probably get one of those!) Anyway, Tyler was the first in his class to read 100 hours, and I don't think his teacher is making quite as big of a deal about the 100-hour club as I'd like. So we took matters into our own hands:

The other thing Tyler likes to point out is that he is the youngest in his class and the first one to 100 hours. Way to go, boy!

Then I decided to make one for Shayla that says Shayla Bela. We call her that all the time, ever since my niece was given the middle name Bela (which means beautiful in Portuguese). It rhymes, so it stuck. Needless to say, here she is in her Shayla Bela shirt:

And what to do for Zachary? My mom said I can't very well make him a shirt that says, "My mom thinks I'm disgusting." So, instead I made this:

He loves it. :) He's what Paul calls a "true" middle child -- one older sister, one younger sister, one older brother, one younger brother. That's how Paul is, too, and he'll tell you that is surely a TRUE middle child (unlike me, who is fourth of eight kids :).

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-01-24T09:52:00.004-07:00

Nothing new and exciting happening here, but that's to be expected. :) Paul did get a new computer (which I guess is new and exciting) for school, and that brought on the problem of our old printer not having drivers compatible with the new computer. Figures. I was really annoyed with having to buy a new printer until we looked into it and found that our new printer has ink for $10 less than our current printer! And it was "only" $50. Our other option was to buy a long cable to hook the old computer up to the printer and not have the new printer be able to print (PAIN!), but the new cord would cost $30. So I caved and we bought a new printer. I'm excited about cheaper ink, though. That THRILLS me!

Anyway, our cute little Aussie is definitely growing up. You can get him to throw his arms over his head if you yell, "Hooray!" It's adorable:

And then everyone gets so excited that he's just happy:

I've decided my little Shayla doesn't have nearly enough things for her hair. Her hair looks very cute just plain w/o anything done to it, so we usually don't. However, if I want to clip in a barrette or flower or something she likes that. But I've been cheap and haven't wanted to pay for them (being several dollars per flower barrette). So I have been buying flowers from the dollar store and bought a bunch of gems from the craft store. I went to Sally's and bought 100 clips, so now we're on a barrette-making frenzy. My favs are the "decorations" we turned into barrettes:

That butterfly is made out of feathers. I have no idea how it was intended to be used (maybe in a flower arrangement?), but we took the wire thing off the back and glued on a clip. Viola -- beautiful barrette!

I finally went and bought new pants for my Zachary. Poor thing was looking like a bum wearing holy pants to school every day. He had only one pair that looked nice, so I went shopping. Of course, I figured he was just going to be in size 8 since he's about to turn 8 and most of his pants are size 7 or 8. But when I brought them home we found that they fit perfectly. A little too perfectly -- if he grows even an inch they won't fit anymore. So we had to go up to size 10. Let me tell you how fun laundry will be trying to figure out if pants are Tyler's or Zachary's. In the past I've always just looked at the size and that solved it. No more. I might have to start buying Zachary 10H just so I can tell them apart! :)

Anyway, Shayla went to play with a friend last week and came home looking like this:

Other than that I'll just say that I'm still the best dancer in the house. We're really enjoying the Let's Dance 2 we got with our Wii. Even before we danced I told Becca that I was a better dancer than she was and to watch out. I don't think she believed me and was shocked to see me score higher than her dance after dance after dance. But now she KNOWS it -- we have proof. ;) When I told my family that she got grumpy and said there is to be no more trash talk coming her way. So I'll give it to all y'all instead: I bet I'm a better dancer than you are ... come on over and prove me wrong! ;)

Opinion, please

2011-01-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

One of the hardest things about scrapbooking is making decisions. No, I'm not a good decision-maker. (At least not a quick decision-maker.) Oftentimes when you're designing a page you have two options and can't decide which you like better, because they both appeal to you the same amount.

This is when it's especially helpful to be scrappin with other people. However, Paul (who never scrapbooks with me but has to help me make decisions when he's around) often teases me because anytime I ask him which one he likes better, there's a good chance I go with the other option. This is not because I don't trust Paul's opinion or like what he's suggesting (remember I was considering it as one of my two options), but because if he says one and I don't agree then I realize that I really liked the other one better in the first place.

That said (and maybe I shouldn't have), even after seeking his opinion I still can't decide on blue or pink. This is where digital scrapbooking comes in really handy. Which do you like better?

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-01-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Man has it been a long time since I posted! First I'll post some cool pictures. Paul and I took the kiddos sledding while they were out for Christmas break, and they LOVED it. There were little jumps all over the hill, and the boys were thrilled:

Of course, the landing part wasn't quite so fun. In fact, Tyler had to sit down and take a breather for a while after knocking out his breath and bruising his back. Shayla took full advantage of her brother being down:

She loved pulling him around everywhere. Zachary is probably the most fun to watch. He is so expressive when he's sledding:

And the best thing is that you always see this at the bottom of the hill:

Here are a few more pics of our fun time:

I was thinking of going sledding today since the kids are out for MLK day, but then it poured this morning. Last time we tried sledding on wet snow, it wasn't slippery at all. (Zachary stopped mid-hill one run down. That's never a good sign when sledding. :)

This year our kids have been challenged to read the scriptures everyday. I was so grateful to our primary presidency for issuing this challenge. We were reading as a family, but I didn't know how to get the kids also reading on their own. The primary gave each child in junior primary their own Book of Mormon reader with their name on it, and they are thrilled. They also gave a reading schedule to senior primary. My kids are loving the challenge.

So, as the new year started Zachary did an FHE lesson on the scriptures. He used a lesson from the old FHE manuals. He asked the question they outlined, "Why are the scriptures important to us?" Tyler answered, "Because they teach us about Christ." Zachary looked back in the book and then answered emphatically, "Nope!" It was hilarious. (Turns out the book says they are important to us because they're true and teach us how to return to live with Heavenly Father.) Of course, about this time Shayla started bawling. When we asked her what was wrong, she said, "Zachary, I don't know what to say about the scriptures!" You've gotta love FHE. :)

Actually, I get such joy watching my kids try to teach lessons. I try to help them prepare, like I did with Zachary in choosing this lesson, but sometimes they just want to prepare it all on their own. Zachary once grabbed his conference issue of the Ensign (we've started getting each child their own), and he highlighted specific lines to share with us. I figured it would be fine since it was from the Ensign. The first sentence he chose to read said something like, "I could tell when the couple walked into my office that they were having problems." Then he skipped to another talk and another line. Paul and I bursted out laughing -- it's so hard not to -- and had to cover with saying one of us made a funny face or something. What sweet kids. I don't want them to ever feel like their lessons aren't good enough, but man are some of them funny!

And the highlight of Tyler's life right now is Harry Potter. His grade gets really into it -- they have a sorting hat and sort the kids into houses. Each house earns (and loses) points by their actions and homework completion, etc. They play quidditch every Friday (with a bouncy ball being the snitch). It is soooooo much fun! At the end they're going to have a huge feast where they announce the winning house, eat things like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean and chocolate frogs and drink things like butterbeer. So, I invited myself down to the sorting. Tyler got his first choice, which was Ravenclaw (his teacher is the house head, and his teacher is pretty cool).

After each child was sorted, they were given a scarf with a pin of their house:

They then went to sit at the table decorated with their house colors while the older students in their house (5th and 6th graders) cheered for them to join their house. It is such a cool thing they're doing. Notice his grade shirt with the Deathly Hallows? Needless to say, we're Ravenclaw fans for the time being. They are the smart ones after all, right? :)

Family pinata party

2011-01-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

Every year for Christmas my family does a pinata. I think this tradition is more than 30 years old. Growing up we did it every Christmas Eve as my mom's part of the "program." (Everyone was required to do something for our program, and my dad always did impressions of us -- which were hilarious until you were embarrassed by your own -- and my mom always did a pinata.) But since we've gotten so big and people are so busy during the holidays, we now do it after Christmas.

In the "olden days" we had a hook installed in the roof of the basement so we could do it in the warmth of our house. Then as people started getting married and upping our numbers, we had to move the tradition into the garage. Fortunately my dad has some awesome heaters we could put out there, and that worked for many more years. Recently we have had to move into a church. Since we don't think we should install a hook there (or at least aren't tall enough to ;) we use the basketball hoops for our ropes.

My dad LOVED to move the string up and down and get it swinging all around. Those movies you see where the pinata is still and the kids hit it? Not in this family. The person running the string (the father of the family) gets it moving so they have to make a lot of misses in addition to a few hits. And it's always hilarious to watch a person get whacked by the pinata without knowing it's coming. (And, by the way, no serious injuries yet.)

The tradition is to start with the youngest child first. They get a few hits before the bat moves to the next youngest child and so on. (Oh, I should clarify, too, that now that we have so many kids each family does their own pinata. Can you imagine all 20+ grandkids all trying to get in on one pinata? They don't make 'em THAT strong! :)

Anyway, with that said, I finally got smart (just this year) and decided I need to take a picture of my kids with each year's pinata before we get to hitting it. In the past we've had Nemo, a candy cane, Buzz Lightyear, Dora, Sponge Bob, Hello Kitty, etc. Here they are with this year's, a reindeer:

Of course, before we can get to pinatas we have to eat dinner. However, since we all know adults want to socialize a whole lot longer than do kids, my dad has started bringing his big remote control truck and chasing the kids with it. They LOVE it! I had no idea how much they loved it until this year Zachary asked if he could wear his Sunday shoes. Why? Because his gym shoes have a huge hole in them and his boots make him run too slow -- he needed the perfect shoes to get away from the truck. They are hilarious to watch running away from it!

After some good running around we got to the pinata. This is like a second Christmas with this much fun. :) Anyway, it's a blast of a tradition and I should make a photo book just of our pinata-hitting attempts ...

Speaking of attempts, here are this year's:

Austin's first pinata ever:

Shayla:

Zachary:

Tyler:

Becca:

(The pinata was already had by this point, but we told her to beat it anyway. Her clenched lips are so she won't stick out her tongue, but she did anyway. :)

Anyway, thanks mom and dad for such a fun tradition. It's a blast we all look forward to every year!

Last thoughts on the nativity

2010-12-31T16:12:00.000-07:00

At least the last thoughts for this Christmas season ... maybe. :) I just have been thinking a lot about the nativity this year and the miraculousness of it. I forgot to mention in my previous post about the nativity how I've also been thinking about how the shepherds heard heavenly hosts singing. They were singing and rejoicing so loudly about the birth of the Savior that the veil between the earthly and heavenly were ripped wide open. And I was there. I was singing. And I was rejoicing. To think of myself as a part of the nativity story makes it a lot more personal. Because I was there. As you were you. Just something to think about next time you hear about those heavenly hosts singing.

The other thing I thought about (and this is the PR girl in me) is that if his birth was a "normal" one then it may not have been recorded. Think about how newsworthy it was to have been born in a foreign town in a stable of all places! Of course, the Lord wasn't thinking of newsworthy, and there is definitely symbolism involved in there being no room at the inn, but I wonder if we would have any record at all about His birth if it had been under ordinary circumstances. Most of his childhood was "ordinary" and therefore we don't know anything about it except for one out-of-the-ordinary story. So thank goodness it was something different and worth telling to these authors in the New Testament or we may celebrate his birth without knowing any of the details. Kind of a funny way to look at it, I suppose, but it makes the story memorable and interesting to tell, and therefore we have it.

My last thought is that I'm so happy we celebrate His birth December instead of in the spring when He was truly born. During that time we celebrate his resurrection, which gives us as much hope as does His divine birth. The winter would surely be long if we didn't have such a glorious holiday to celebrate.

Austin is 9 months

2010-12-29T14:39:00.004-07:00

So in addition to the fun on Christmas day, we also had Austin turn 9 months old. Okay, I guess you don't really "turn" 9 months old, but he did anyway. We mark the baby's first year of life with pics every three months, so here are his 9-month pics:

Trying to copy the kids and fold his arms:

I can't roll over yet, but I can do this:

And, of course, Austin and Austin:

Yes, I had too many to choose from. He's such a sweet, sweet boy! And thanks, Gavin, for lending your hats to your buddy. :)

Christmas fun

2010-12-29T09:28:00.005-07:00

Christmas day was wonderful! I mean, it always is, but I've decided it's just a lot more fun as a parent than it even was as a child. There is nothing as fun as watching your kids get excited over the smallest things. I was pretty happy that in the days before Christmas I heard the kiddos mention they wanted at least three things they'd be receiving. And there wasn't a complaint about what wasn't there. That's such a blessing that my kids are grateful for what they have, and not focused on what was missing. (We had no legos this year, and I'm not sure anyone even noticed even though it was the top request. :)

Anyway, here were the big presents for our family:

Becca was especially excited about the ping pong/billiards/air hockey table. She's been wanting air hockey for a long time, and if it weren't for her we definitely wouldn't have gotten it! I'm not sure I want the space taken, but we'll definitely have fun with it.

One of the fun things about kids is that they don't have to finish opening their presents to be completely and utterly happy. Shayla got a new dance outfit and leg warmers and immediately put them on to do a dance for all of us as we opened gifts:

Shayla was in love with the shopping cart she got -- not only is it pink, but it can hold a baby, and the basket can come out and be carried around separately. I bet you've never looked so stylish shopping:

This picture is for Christina. I'm not sure if you can tell whether or not Tyler liked the marshmallow shooter you sent. ;)

Little Austin wasn't too into unwrapping presents this year, but boy did he love sucking on ribbon:

We also had a fun "treat" this year by having my parents here to watch the kiddos open presents. This also meant we got to watch them open theirs:

And good thing Grandpa was here, because he could show Tyler how to do a few tricks with his new yo-yo. After he left Tyler said, "Mom, your dad actually helped me learn something!" Who knew a grandpa could know how to yo-yo! ;)

In any case, it was also fun to watch Austin try to grab the yo-yo from my dad. I only wish our videotape hadn't run out before we got this!

And as tradition calls for, we got a picture of each of us with our loot:

(I loved my newspaper I got from Tyler. He typed it all up and put it together himself. It tells what we do on Christmas and has a place for us to mark the weather for that year's Christmas. What a cute boy!)

One of the gifts (other than the Wii) that the kids have spent the most time on is eggs with dinosaur bones in them that they have to excavate:

Good to know Santa can find good things at the dollar store!!! :)

And Austin loves his ball toy, almost as much as Shayla and Zachary do. ;)

It's kind of sad that we have to wait a whole year for the Christmas season to come again since I love it! But today we'll take down our Christmas decorations and start the countdown. ;) In the meantime, we'll have fun playing our Wii, and I'll continue to beat everyone at "Let's Dance 2" ... much to Becca's surprise. :D

Christmas Eve

2010-12-26T22:43:00.005-07:00

This year we had our second annual sandwich feast for Christmas Eve. My sister Rebecca mentioned that she does this every year (and in style, I might add, which you can see on her blog!), and Becca thought it sounded perfect. So, it's our new Christmas Eve tradition ... although we're going to have to up it quite a few notches to get to ridiculously delicious sandwiches like Rebecca and Rob have ...

Anyway, we ate and then gave the first gifts of the season to our Savior. This is a tradition we have done for many years, and we like having it be the first gift we give each year. We all choose something we want to work on extra hard the next year as a gift to the Savior. Mind you, we just read in Mosiah how when we serve the Lord He immediately blesses us and we can basically never get out of His debt. I think that made it fun for the kids this year to think they can try. :) Anyway, it's always fun to look at past years' gifts and see what we've tried to work on. This gift stays in a somewhat visible place in our home and is out all year round. (Sometimes we even pull it out for an FHE lesson to remind us what we need to be working on.)

Then it was time for our traditional jammies to be opened. I was excited about the kids' jammies this year! I was shooting for cheap and had gotten the cheapest ones I could find for the boys, which turned out to be thermals. Then I learned a really cool technique from aforementioned sister, and I turned their boring jammies into awesomeness. Yes, I took the nicknames they got from Uncle Brandon and put them on jammies:

The boys were THRILLED! As you can see, they couldn't pose without showing off their super hero identities.

And not to be outdone was their super hero sister:

She always poses how they do, and then later when she sees the pictures she asks, "What was I doing?" Exactly. So we also have to make sure to get a normal shot, too. This girl sure loves Ariel because of that beautiful red hair:

Becca was happy about her jammies, especially since they are especially warm and fuzzy and she says she's always cold in the basement:

Austin actually went first and didn't know what to do with his very first present ever. But what do babies do with anything and everything?

Once he got a little help he got them unwrapped and ended up matching Mommy:

I bought these when I was pregnant with Tyler but never used them -- the baby jammies are too big to use with a newborn, and usually when they do fit my babies are crawling and don't want a nightgown. Good thing Austin is content to do nothing so I could finally use these nearly 10 years later! :) And yes, I did just post a picture of myself on my blog in my jammies!

I mentioned before our free gift the kids would be getting, but I think I neglected to mention the size. This has been sitting in our family room just like this for three weeks. It's been so much fun for the kids to anticipate what it would be (mattress, anyone?).

To end the evening we put out treats for Santa, tracked him online (catching him in South Carolina visiting Brandon :) and got the kiddos into bed. Mind you, Santa's treats disappeared before the boys were asleep, which almost gave me a heart attack, but no harm was done ... phew! (The stresses Santas throughout the world have to go through! ;)

Fun things are afoot ...

2010-12-23T19:57:00.006-07:00

I'm so excited for Christmas. Ever since Paul and I finished the shopping back in October it's been an exciting wait. And now it's almost here. In the meantime we're keeping somewhat busy ...

Monday night our ward had a special event that was something new -- they did a live nativity with a short program. It was called a walk to Bethlehem, and shepherds came around and knocked on our doors to guide us to "Bethlehem." (These are the advantages of having our ward only about four blocks wide and one block deep.) Turns out it was snowing all day long before it, so my boys went over and helped shovel out the stable. They're good boys. Paul was in the cast: Can you pick him out?

He's the shepherd behind Joseph. Here's a better view:

I was so glad he was in the program, because I think it made it more special for the kiddos. Mind you, I had to get a babysitter for the baby since it was too cold for him outside, but other than that it was a good family event.

The snow continued for the entire night (and most of the next day), so school was canceled. I heard that was the first time our school district had canceled in more than 20 years. And it took them hours to make the decision. Hello -- nobody was going to go out in that anyway, so why debate it? Anyway, here are a few pics of Paul trying to dig us out:

(I love the antennae ball on the car -- how is that much snow possible on one little ball? Look again in case you missed it.)

You can tell it wasn't extremely cold, just very snowy:

You can see the antennae ball better here:

Basketball anyone?

I'd been wanting to take this pic since Austin was born and finally got around to it. I love how none of them have the same hair color. How is that possible?

And, by the way, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Too much stuff

2010-12-13T13:38:00.004-07:00

So, I'll go ahead and say it -- my kids are getting too much stuff for Christmas this year. We had planned on having what we considered a big Christmas anyway (buying what we consider a large family purchase), but then we got another large gift (for free) to add to the mix. Of course, I can't give specifics lest my children read this and it ruins the surprise ...

Anyway, I was thinking about this and one of my favorite Christmas stories came to mind (below). I used to enjoy and collect many Christmas stories, but I've really narrowed it down to a few I really love. This is one of my absolute favorites:

With God in a P.O.W. Camp

I thought of the Christmas tree at home, set up in the living room as I knew it would be. Had I been there I would have gone to parties with my friends, and at every party, in every house, there would be a Christmas tree.

I wanted a Christmas tree, but nothing was allowed into our cells, and frequent searches made sure of the barrenness. Outside, we were not even allowed to make a bending motion as though we might pick up something from the ground.

That Christmas tree came to mean to me just the opposite of all I was experiencing. The green of its envisioned freedom, and light, and family and America. And the season the tree represented spoke of God. I dreamed of a Christmas tree, and the melancholy knowledge that I should be at home settled over me like a pall. I prayed.

Then one afternoon after washing my dishes, I turned to take the one step back into my cell. I looked down, and on the threshold of my door was a tiny leaf blown there by the wind. I picked it up with my toes and carried it inside. The door slammed shut behind me. I carefully took the leaf from between my toes and looked at it for a long time. I held it to my nose. The perfume of freedom raced up my nostrils and infused my mind with its power. I fondled the leaf. It was real. I held it in my hand. God had not forgotten me. I set the leaf on the little ledge by the window. Its greenness stood out in stark contrast to the dull, gray bars. Tears rolled down my cheeks. God had given me a Christmas tree.

By Lt. Ralph Gaither
Viet Nam P.O.W. from 1965 to 1973

I have so much more than did this man and sometimes I don't feel nearly as grateful as he did. However, we emphasize gratitude often in our home and I feel blessed to have kids who are for the most part grateful. I hope they can follow the example of this POW and learn the importance of gratitude and seeing God no matter what our circumstances.

Miraculous Birth

2010-12-12T10:46:00.002-07:00

I've been pondering a lot lately about the birth of our dear Savior. I've always been grateful to our Heavenly Father for sending His son, but since becoming a mother I also have a great appreciation for Mary and her part of the Savior's life.

This past week I have been thinking about the joy of birth. I have been blessed to give birth to four beautiful children, and all have been miraculous moments. I have been blessed to have extremely wonderful medical care. I have been able to go to a facility that is sterile and clean and created for the purpose of childbirth. I have had available to me medical personnel who are trained in taking care of women and new babies no matter what complications may arise. I have been given epidurals so I have been able to enjoy every little second of the birthing process without pain. I have been surrounded by loved ones who were excited to be there with me while I welcomed a new baby into the world.

I wasn't nervous during my first labor and delivery. I had been in the delivery room with my best friend only six weeks earlier, so I knew exactly what to expect, even though our deliveries had differences. When I became a mother my mom was there with me. That is such a special thing to me -- my mom and dad hopped in the car and drove for 15 hours straight to be there when Tyler was born. It was a miraculous day that I will cherish always.

Then I thought about Mary's experience. She probably had never been involved with anyone else's birth, so this was a completely new experience to her. Even if she had a midwife to assist her earlier in the pregnancy, she was alone with Joseph going through the most painful parts of labor. What was her delivery environment? She was surrounded by animals in a stable. Mind you, I've always felt like the stable actually was a blessing in disguise, because the inns were totally open (everyone slept in the same room), so she would have had to deliver in front of everyone. Imagine the sacrilege that could and probably would have happened if she delivered in front of people who did not want to be bothered with this distraction. However, even though she was blessed with privacy, she was in a stable with animals. Even if Joseph found clean straw for Mary and Jesus, there would have definitely been a distinct stable smell.

Who was her medical personnel? Joseph. I think of Paul having to handle our first birth on his own, and there's just no way! I know Joseph was inspired and blessed to know what he needed to, but I'm sure it was still stressful for both of them! And where was Mary's mother? Probably wherever she needed to be for taxes at the time, but definitely not with her dear daughter.

I spoke with one woman who believes that God spared Mary of any pain since she was delivering His son. I don't feel that is the case -- I'm sure she felt much pain and suffering in this process as only laboring women can comprehend. And as mentioned, she suffered much of this labor on a donkey, in an unfamiliar land, with only her husband who had no medical knowledge. Obviously if He was hoping to make the childbirth perfect, He would have had her at home with midwives and her mother!

And yet, in the midst of all these unfavorable circumstances, Mary experienced a miracle. She gave birth to a beautiful, healthy babe who was not only her gift, but a gift to us all. I'm sure she felt the great love that I felt the first time my new baby was laid in my arms. And maybe she had even more gratitude than I had because they did overcome so many unusual and unfavorable obstacles to welcome their first child into the world.

Those humble circumstances of His birth have touched my heart so much this year. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift (2 Cor 9:15). May we all remember this, the greatest gift of all, during this blessed season.

Santa

2010-12-10T09:34:00.005-07:00

So we made it to the mall to visit Santa. I really prefer him coming to the church so my kids associate him with the church instead of the mall, but our ward is being different this year ...

So we went to the mall and were blessed to get there when there was absolutely no line whatsoever. I'm thinking this might be the last year a certain little boy believes, and it was obviously Austin's first Santa exposure, so I was looking forward to our visit.

Here are my boys visiting with the big man:

Can you just see him staring at the beard? I totally expected him to just yank the poor old man's beard, but he never did:

Unlike his older sister did her first visit to Santa:

(Rebecca, I was thinking you'd love the costume. This was the worst one I've ever had. Too bad it had to be one of the cutest pictures I've taken!)

Anyway, speaking of said sister, here she was this year so proud to go talk to Santa:

And I knew I wouldn't get Becca on Santa's lap, so instead we took a group picture. I think it's pretty cute:

And this visit to Santa (as well as a couple of other errands) explains why Zachary went to his choir concert in a wet shirt! Yes, we have four white shirts, and they were all in the washer wet. Is that really any better than being dirty? Anyway, he sang great anyway and from the audience you couldn't even tell his shirt was wet. What a sweet boy:

Fun of Everyday Life

2010-12-03T09:23:00.006-07:00

We've been having a good time ... although we haven't done anything much other than live our lives. I guess that's a good thing. :)

My boys both finally got their class shirts. I found it funny that Zachary showed up with his shirt saying 2nd grade friends after I'd made Shayla's shirt to say pre-school friends. :) And Tyler LOVES his b/c it has a quote from Dumbledore in book 7 and the symbol of the deathly hallows. (He hasn't read them or seen the movie, but he knows it's cool anyway. :)

Last weekend we got to attend the baby blessing of my baby bro's new baby. There were actually three babies blessed since James had two cousins born right before him (on Heidi's side). In any case, though, we were able to get a pic of the "in crowd" ... remember James barely makes it in with his middle name:

James BrandON, AspEN, AustIN, GavIN, KylEN

And while we were there we took a picture of the only two Palmer grandsons. Mind you, my parents have many grandsons (12 now), but for 16.5 years Caleb was the only grandson with the last name Palmer. My other two brothers still have only girls, but Dustin finally pulled through to give my parents another Palmer grandson:

And while we were there we took a pic of Grandpa with the boys -- this pic has been labeled trouble x5:

This weekend we also put up our puny Christmas tree. Yes, it has the built-in lights, but boy is it tiny. Oh well, it's just as fun no matter how big it is. Anyway, we pulled out the train and I fully expected Austin to try to get it. Nope -- he just sat and watched in awe:

And speaking of Austin, he has a fun toy I found out in storage:

I told Paul we should write to Pixar and tell them thank you for making his old toy back in style. He said maybe we should just take it away and sell it on eBay. :) I sure like the older toys -- I'm not big into noise or blinking lights since I don't feel kids need that kind of stimulation ... yet. :) So, we have lots of old-school toys, and when I pulled this out the kids all said, "That's the toy from Toy Story 3!" Little did they know we've had it for YEARS!

Last night for scouts the boys had a blast carving soap:

It's just too bad the kitchen doesn't look as clean as it now smells. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Black Friday

2010-11-26T10:20:00.005-07:00

Happy Black Friday! This is the first time in a few years that I stayed home and enjoyed my warm bed. It was lovely. We had our shopping done before today (except for the jammies I mentioned a bit back), and I didn't see anything that even tempted me. I saw some things that would be fun to get, but not enough that I'd want to go out in the cold ...

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! I feel blessed beyond measure for my wonderful husband and great kids (who I haven't messed up too much yet :). I love my parents and appreciate the great example they have given me for years. I love my siblings and their kiddos even more. And I'm grateful my kids have cousins who aren't weird. ;) Most of all I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that I have been blessed to have the fullness of the gospel in my life. What an awesome opportunity to know so much about the Savior and to have the gift of the Holy Ghost in my life to help me be the best wife and mother I can be. There aren't words enough to describe what a sacred blessing this is in my life.

Anyway, I love spending time with family, and we got to spend Thanksgiving with my parents, one sister's family and my two younger brothers and their families. I didn't even get pics of Ryan's cute girls since one was sick and another is shy enough I didn't want to scare her away from playing by snapping pics. We did, however, get a picture of Austin with his newest cousin James:

We also got a picture of their older cousin Kylen when he stopped by for a short time. I thought Rebecca would appreciate this picture of Austin trying to get Kylen's ear:

(And no, this isn't why Kylen is crying -- he just didn't want to sit down for that annoying camera lady!)

Anyway, Shayla and Zachary came home with very cute Thanksgiving day crafts from school. Zachary made this great turkey (which was supposed to be the T-day centerpiece but his ditsy mom forgot to grab it as she said she would):

Shayla made these cute things at pre-school:

(She went back and forth between wanting to show this turkey to everyone and eating it immediately! :)

And in the midst of this wonderful holiday, my baby turned 8 months. Here he is with his buddy Austin:

Last weekend provided the first really good snow. Shayla was thrilled and got her snow clothes on immediately. Zachary and Tyler were too busy playing in the basement to care. That made me sad to see they're old enough that they have lost some of their excitement. But then when Shayla went out Zachary quickly joined her:

BTW, that carrot is from our garden. Funny, huh, that we have a garden carrot to plant in the snowman?!?

What did Austin think of his first snow (which you can see in his hair)?

And on to the fun of this weekend -- it's rivalry week! This is the week BYU versus U of U, and we're hoping for a big win! It's the last time the two teams are in the same conference, so we'd like to end it on a high. Last weekend when Paul said he was going to watch the BYU game Shayla said, "I better get on my BYU clothes!" She definitely makes the cutest cheerleader BYU has:

Go, Cougs! We'll be cheering for you even if we miss the beginning of the game (due to a baby blessing in the morning).

Miscellaneous Monday

2010-11-22T16:35:00.006-07:00

Another week has come and gone. Does anyone else feel like time is seriously just flying by?!? I teach once a month in Relief Society, and every month I feel like it hasn't really been four Sundays (sometimes five) since I last taught.

Speaking of church, there was a funny thing that happened in sacrament meeting. The speaker was a high counselor in our ward. He wanted to point out that the talks can be for each of us, and that we shouldn't think to ourselves, "Boy, Brother Brown really needs to hear this talk!" I was laughing, but at least there are two Brother Browns in our ward, so not everyone would automatically think of my hubby. Then the speaker saw the other Brother Brown and said, "Oh, I'm not talking about you, Jess. I'm talking about another Brother Brown." I was laughing so hard. I was in the mother's lounge at the time, and the other mom in there said, "Well, I guess he means your husband." When I started the Relief Society lesson I asked how many had thought of my husband during sacrament meeting, and half of them raised their hands. So funny. But maybe it got my husband to listen to the talk on gratitude ... ;)

My fitness challenge is over today! I did pretty well -- I lost 10 pounds. I gave up a bit at the end, but I'll take the 10 pounds. I have another challenge starting Jan. 3, so spread the word to anyone you think would be interested. We had one participant lose more than 30 pounds! And there were 10 of us who lost 10+ pounds. So awesome. I'll be starting another challenge on Jan. 3 (rules at http://minus200club.blogspot.com/2010/10/points-tally-new-rules-for-2011-hot.html), so spread the word to anyone you know who has weight to lose.

And now on with pictures ...

This is what you get when you have a big sister to play with all day:

And this pic makes me think I'm going to have to resurrect my Cookie-Monster birthday cake idea for someone's first birthday:

And here's a picture of Becca at Sadies:

See how happy she is when she's not driving? ;) She might just be a passenger forever at the rate we're going. She didn't pass the test for her learner's permit, and I think she's too scared to take it again. On the one hand I want to force her to do it so she realizes she can do hard things. No, this isn't really hard, but she's a HORRIBLE test-taker and is letting that scare her into not taking a test she can pass if she'll just study instead of thinking she knows it all and taking it without reading the material. On the other hand, do I want to push her to do something that is going to cost us more money for insurance -- especially when (notice I did not say if) she totals the car? Not really ... so for now I'm letting it slide. I think, though, next year she's not going to get rides from us much in hopes she will then be motivated to start driving herself. Teenagers!

And this past week I had the joy of taking pics of my new adorable nephew!!! I was only going to post three, but there are five instead. I had to narrow it down from my 75 favorites ... :) Can you believe that hair???

We're sure looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with family. I hope you all have a great turkey day yourselves!

Miscellaneous Monday

2010-11-15T08:46:00.005-07:00

Well, we've been busy and we've been sick. I guess that's my excuse for not posting for a bit.

My family took turns being sick. It all started with Austin a week ago Friday night. This is what happens when you throw up while you're a baby and in the kitchen:

The next night Tyler was throwing up, and in the middle of the night Shayla was throwing up. Sigh. Then Monday Zachary came home and he threw up Monday night -- and unfortunately didn't use the Heaving Helper we have, but tried running upstairs instead :(, then Tuesday Paul came home and he was throwing up. Becca went to bed early because she wasn't feeling well, but fortunately she skipped the throwing up, and I was blessed to avoid it altogether. Phew!

On to better news ...

Paul is only two weeks from starting school. He's giddy. I'm excited for him and nervous for me. Doesn't help that the night he had to take a "pre-test" the boys were goofing off and needed some discipline right as Shayla was crying about not wanting to go to bed and Austin was fussy and needed to be fed. It might just be a long three years ... :) But the good news is that they accepted all of his previous college credit and certifications, so he has nearly half of his credits met already. That'll definitely cut down the amount of time he has to go. We're also excited that between a pell grant, scholarship (hopefully!) and his work reimbursement, we won't have to pay a cent. I'm really happy about that part. I also quite like that he'll do most of it from home, so even if he is busy with school he'll be here.

I've been busy (addicted) to finding free digital scrapbooking goodies on blog trains. I even found one that is from LDS designers (ldsblogtrain.blogspot.com) and has an LDS focus. I found one (blogtrainblog.blogspot.com) with beautiful colors and an Orient theme this month. There were something like 97 designers who participated. Needless to say, it's time for a trip to the Orient so I can have pics to scrapbook! ;) My brother is trying to get a trip to Japan put together with students at his university (he teaches at Coastal Carolinas in beautiful Myrtle Beach), and the trip would be 100 percent free for students. Unfortunately he can't fill the spots! I guess the caveat is that they have to do research while they're there. I keep telling him to sign me up, but somehow I still haven't gotten on the list ... ;)

Becca had another date this weekend. It was Sadies, and she went with a huge group. (Now that she's done with it she realizes why I kept advising her that smaller groups are better -- the logistics of picking up 14 people for one van takes a long time!) She had fun, although I think she was more going on the date to meet our rule of going on two dates in between (meaning she has to go on two dates with other people before she can go on a date with her crush again :). The good news is she got a shirt out of it. She's always wanted this style of shirt and was thrilled to find it. We took it in so it had more of a "girl" cut to it, and she loves it:

Of course, I didn't get a picture of her and her date together since she was the one picking him up ...

Tyler has enjoyed reading this year tons. He read the entire Percy Jackson series (which I still am working on), and he is all of a sudden interested in reading. His teacher has a "100 club" that you get into if you read 100 hours during the school year. If you do so, he'll buy you ANY book on the face of the planet. (Last year he spent hundreds buying books for those who made it -- more than $100 on Star Wars books alone.) Tyler made it last night! I think he might even be the first one in his class, because he hasn't heard of anyone else making it. He was thrilled, and I was soooo happy that he's finally enjoying reading. Finding books for boys just isn't nearly as easy as it is for girls. It took us years to finally get Becca reading, but at least she somewhat enjoys the same books I do. But boys are different, so I'm glad some authors are realizing that. Now we're going to move onto 39 Clues, which we've heard good things about. I should have bought them from Scholastic while they were cheap, because we might be on waiting lists at the library for quite a while. :)

Austin is still as cute as ever. Surprise, surprise. :) We took some pics of him and his cousin Gavin, who is 6 weeks younger. Austin was sooooo tired that he just sat there while Gavin tried to get his ear. (Normally he would have at least smiled at Gavin while his ear was grabbed. :) It's just fun to see them finally seeing each other and responding to each other. Boy will they be trouble-makers when they get a little bigger ...

My sis showed me the cutest way to make designs/words on shirts, and I am thrilled! I found shirts at the dollar store, so I made shirts for Shayla's pre-school before our last field trip. I am in love with them. I have also made some onesies for a friend that I'll post later. So exciting and pretty easy. I would love to post a pic of her with two friends all wearing their shirts. It was soooo fun and cute!

And the bestest news yet -- I'm an auntie again! My baby bro Dustin and his wife Heidi gave birth to the sweetest little boy on Friday night. He is adorable! Just look at that hair:

Off to another week. Can anyone else believe it's already mid-November!!! Good thing my Christmas shopping is DONE!

Miss Forgetful Pants

2010-11-08T08:18:00.002-07:00

So, I oftentimes feel like my brain just doesn't work right lately. It seems that there is at least one thing per week that I forget. Last month I had a meeting at the school that I remembered about all week -- until the day of the meeting. Then I remembered right as it was ending. Ugh!

I feel like I do that often enough that it is pretty frustrating. Usually if it's on my calendar I'm good, but then there are things (like the meeting I mentioned above) that were on the calendar and somehow I still spaced them.

If you haven't learned by now, I have a theory about why moms get so forgetful. You see, I have to do the thinking for all of my kids and usually my husband. Otherwise they don't remember things like appointments, lessons, homework, etc. So, in reality, I have only 1/7 of my brain for myself. No wonder if feels like so little!

So, I started thinking about it and realized that I really have A LOT to remember every week. Most weeks I remember all of this:

- Feed the kids a healthy breakfast before school
- Make the kids lunch on days they don't want school lunch
- Make dinner EVERY night :)
- Feed Austin every four hours
- Feed Austin solids once or twice a day
- Remind Paul to take lunch everyday
- Get Becca to Young Women's
- Get Shayla to pre-school twice a week (and teach every fifth week)
- Get Shayla to dance once a week
- Scouts (for Tyler and us)
- Do the laundry so everyone has clean clothes
- Go grocery shopping when necessary ... and know what I need to buy
- Piano lessons for Tyler
- Return library books before there is a fine
- Wednesdays are early-out days, so I need to be home so the kids can get in the house
- Checking on and doing homework with the kids every night
- Getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour
- Watch the Biggest Loser on Tuesdays (okay, not necessary, but the one show I do watch -- and I've already forgotten three times this season! :)
- Make sure the kiddos do chores so the house doesn't look like a complete disaster
- Park play day

These are just some of the "normal" things. Then when you start throwing in helping in the kids' classes, doctor/dentist appointments, visiting teaching, etc., it's no wonder I forget a few things here and there ... especially since the above list isn't written on the calendar. That would be just depressing! Today I have nothing written on the calendar, and I'm loving that. Let's just hope I didn't forget to write something down that I'll regret forgetting later! :)

Operation Snuggle

2010-11-05T10:32:00.003-06:00

So last night I was told not to forget to tell about Operation Snuggle, because it's annoying when someone says they'll tell a story later and then never do. Well, with how my memory works, I better get on it or there's not a chance of remembering to post it!

How do I condense 6 weeks of pure trickery delight? Let's see if I can do it ...

So, Hilary is big on Christmas and generally puts her tree up in November -- even before Thanksgiving some years. I told her when we were roommates that it was illegal in our apartment until after Thanksgiving. So, on Black Friday we got a tree, put it up, and had a Christmas party. After the party she was sitting a little close to a guy, and someone said, "You better watch out or President Jenkins will think you're dating!"

President Jenkins, our fun branch president, was intent on seeing who in the branch were turning into couples. He would watch who sat by whom each week, and he'd even watch who was intentionally not sitting by whom so nobody else would notice. He generally had a feel of the branch and disappointed people when they'd start dating and he wasn't surprised.

Anyway, somehow then the idea was hatched: We'd get everyone left at this Christmas party in on a joke to make him think a bunch of us had started dating. This was a very long-term prank (six weeks), and we were excited. We drew names out of a hat to determine who would start "dating" whom. We had to re-arrange a couple to make it more realistic, but this is how I ended up fake dating Paul.

Over the next weeks we would have conversations in front of and with our beloved branch leaders to lead them to believe that we six couples were dating. There was also a little hand-holding here and there, and the one couple who was really dating faked an engagement. This scam was to go through the branch Christmas party, where we would do a skit to reveal the whole joke.

We took fake engagement pictures of each couple and put them together in a photo collage with pictures of temples and sayings about friends. One of the slots also has a "title" that says: Operation Snuggle 1999.

It was going great until the day before the skit. That's when it hit me -- this was a really mean joke! Pres J has been so happy with all the recent dating in the branch, and we're going to devastate him. Oh, man -- what did we do?

So, the big night comes. We had the skit videotaped ... too bad the sound isn't very good. Anyway, we re-enacted some of the scenes that were more blatant attempts to get everyone to think specific couples were dating. Then we said something like, "How could this have happened? Was it in the water? Did Terry spike his break-the-fast cake? No, it all started back at a Christmas party in November ..." We re-enacted the scene of the idea coming forth, including the part about revealing it all at the branch Christmas party in a skit. At that point we all looked at the audience to make clear this is what was happening now.

We then had each couple come on stage and break up. Hilary (who is a lot more dominant than the guy she was paired with) said something like, "C'mon, Will -- let's go ..." He cut her off and said, "I'm sick of you being so bossy! We're through!" Lee's new "interest" said she couldn't go out with him anymore because she got sick in his plane and couldn't get over that. (Hilary and Lee are now married, and she experiences no turbulence problems when she flies with him. :) I told Paul he had to shave the goatee or we were through. He chose the goatee. The dating couple came on, and the guy said, "Bekki, my mom wants her ring back."

Then we called Pres J up on the stage and presented him with the collage of pictures. He LOVED it. We had him. He said a few of the couples weren't as believable, but he totally fell for me and Paul, Hilary and Will and a couple of others. In fact, as I mentioned, when he got the collage and walked off stage, he said, "I know Paul and Denise are dating for real, though!"

It was a blast! In fact, two Christmases ago I typed up all the e-mail correspondence we'd had back and forth (all the Snugglers) and gave it to Hilary for Christmas. I sent a copy to all the Snugglers and Pres J. He LOVED it and said that was one of the best Christmas presents he'd had in a long time -- he had no clue how much was going on behind the scenes with all of us. To this day he has the collage hanging in his home office right above his desk. After all, it's not often someone pulls one over on Pres. J.

BTW, Paul and I officially started dating on April Fool's of the next year. Pretty fitting, huh? :) Oh, and there were plenty of people who just didn't believe that we were really dating this time ... We had this problem when we got engaged, too. Why don't people believe us? Some of the doubters are starting to become convinced ... ;)

10 Years

2010-11-04T08:23:00.003-06:00

Ten years ago today was a huge day in our lives. It was the day Paul and I entered the Salt Lake Temple as best friends and exited as eternal husband and wife. It was awesome.

I was a bit "old" compared to LDS standards when we got married (26). I had already served a mission, graduated from college and embarked on my career. Hilary and I had moved up to Seattle because it sounded cool. Really -- that's why we moved there. After locating an apartment, we called the stake president to ask about the local singles' ward. He informed us it started at 1:30 p.m. Much to our embarrassment, he was wrong about the time and it actually started at 1 p.m., so we walked in 30 minutes late. What a way to make a first impression! (Good thing I wasn't worried about that at the time.)

So, after sacrament meeting we started talking to a guy to find out how to get our records transferred there. Turns out he had the forms in his pocket ... and his name was Paul. I noticed his beautiful eyelashes right away, but I definitely was NOT interested.

Paul and I became pretty fast friends. He was a geek who could put geeky things into English for me, which helped a lot with my job doing high-tech PR. Hilary and I used him for his cable so we could watch BYU football. (I think this was much to his delight.) I found out he had a crush on a certain girl and tried for months to set him up with her. (That backfired a little bit. :)

In Nov/Dec we played the joke of the century (as we call it) on our branch president. "Operation Snuggle" was a ploy to get him thinking a bunch of us were dating. We even took fake engagement pics for a collage for him (which, by the way, still hangs on his office wall to this day -- ours is below). I'll definitely have to tell about that one day -- it was awesome. When he found out it was a joke, he said he said he wouldn't believe that Paul and I really weren't a couple. Funny thing is we weren't ... until four months later. :)

Fast forward five months and Paul took me up to Snoqualmie Falls to propose. It was beautiful. I had no idea getting engaged would be such a spiritual, exciting experience ... and here it was happening to me. I had dreamed of this experience happening, and yet somehow when it did happen it was still better than I could have imagined.

Two months later we were flying down to SLC to get married in the Salt Lake Temple. We had many family and friends to help us celebrate, which made it an even better day. I hear it was cold that day, but somehow I didn't notice. :)

We jumped right into life as a married couple -- less than a year later Tyler was born and I had cut my hours at work to be home more. Paul had his first "real" job. Now 10 years later we have five children (!!!!), are on our second home, have me staying home full time with the kiddos while Paul supports us, and are happy as clams can be. (And because of the saying, I'm assuming clams can be pretty happy!) Okay, that might have seemed like rambling to you, but it was a fun trip down memory lane for me. :)

We were able to celebrate our 10th Anniversary last month with a little getaway. We had no kids, no worries, and not a lot of plans. And we loved it!

Today will be a day just like most others -- he'll be at work, and I'll be doing routine mom things: Teaching pre-school, going to a Relief Society meeting, making dinner, doing laundry, etc. And yet in the back of my mind it will be an awesome day because of the memories of the past 10 years. It's flown by and been forever at the same time. Thanks, Paul, for making this "lifetime" so wonderful ... and for making the last part of my former lifetime (singledom) so much fun. :) I hope it's a great day at work!

(I think we look pretty much the same, but I guess now that you have pics you can decide for yourself. :)